Mum of abused child weeps at sight of body

 

A relative of the victim, Ruslan Ahmad, taking away the remains of the boy, believed to have been abused, for burial. (Bernama pic)

JOHOR BAHRU: The mother of a four-year-old boy, who died from suspected abuse while she was behind bars, was seen weeping at the sight of her son’s body.

The woman was seen at the Sultan Ismail Hospital’s (HSI) forensics department at 2.15pm. She was handcuffed and clad in purple prison garb, flanked by two prison officers.

Now serving a jail sentence for drug offences, she is understood to be at the Simpang Renggam Prison in Kluang.

She was sobbing as she was led away from the mortuary after five minutes into a prison van.

Her husband is also understood to be serving his sentence at the Sungai Udang Prison in Melaka.

The victim, who is the youngest of 11 siblings, died on Dec 26, four days after being admitted to the intensive care unit of HSI, after falling unconscious at his older sister’s friend’s house in Senggarang, Batu Pahat.

A relative of the victim, Ruslan Ahmad, 47, who previously had brief custody of the boy, expressed his sadness when met at the HSI forensics department, and hoped the guilty parties would receive just punishment.

He said the boy had been under the care of the social welfare department (JKM) for three years, before being handed over to his guardianship for a month.

“The boy’s mother had previously been in prison. When she got out, she begged me to give the boy back to her.

“So I gave the boy to the mother. But when she was re-arrested and sent to jail again, the boy came under the care of his sister,” he said.

Ruslan, who is the uncle of the victim’s father, said that the boy would be buried at Kampung Sungai Gatom Cemetery in Labis today.

Earlier, a hearse ferrying the boy’s remains left the HSI forensics department, accompanied by a police vehicle, at 2.50pm.

Police said the boy showed signs of being beaten. There were also burn marks.

So far, five people, aged 15 to 37, have been detained to assist in the police investigation, including the victim’s 19-year-old sister, her 37-year-old husband and a friend. - FMT