MELAKA: The death of a seven-year-old boy from alleged abuse has caused much heartbreak to the 50-year-old woman who had taken care of him since he was two months old.
An emotional Norlida Abu Hassan said although she accepted the death of the boy whom she considered as her adopted son, she was very upset that the child she had cared for like her own had apparently been abused.
She said the last time she met the boy, affectionately known as Adik, was last November in Rawang, Selangor, a month after he was handed back to his biological mother.
“I should have defended Adik. I thought his mother couldn’t bear to be away from her son any more, so I let him return to her.
“I never thought that the child, whom I treated like my own, has disappeared in the blink of an eye in such a terrible way,” she told reporters when met at Taman Seri Jati, Batu Berendam, here today.
Norlida said in a span of more than six years, Adik’s mother came to visit him only a few times. And the last time she got in touch was when she tried to get Adik’s documents for his Year One admission.
Last year, she said the mother had expressed her desire to take him back. After handing him over to her, Norlida did not have the opportunity to see the boy any more, adding that her phone number was even blocked.
“We met him secretly once at a restaurant in Rawang. Adik was brought by his stepfather to meet me and Adik said he missed Ummi (me).
“This loss is not ours only as it is being felt by many in my neighbourhood because of his friendly, cheerful and easy-going nature,” she said.
The seven-year-old boy died in Taman Krubong Jaya here yesterday. He is believed to have been abused. His 32-year-old mother and stepfather, 38, have been detained for questioning.
The child allegedly drowned in a water tub in his house in the 4pm incident, but preliminary investigations found physical injuries on the victim’s body. - FMT
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