Over 220 children died from abuse in past four years

 

There were over 220 cases of children dying from abuse between 2018 and 2022, according to Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

This was revealed in a March 14 written parliamentary reply to Temerloh MP Salamiah Mohd Nor who had asked for the statistics for such deaths.

“The investigations of child abuse cases resulting in death are carried out under the legal provisions of the Children Act 2001 and the Penal Code.

“The statistics of children’s death due to abuse cases between 2018 and 2022 is a total of 220 cases,” Saifuddin said.

However, a breakdown of the data by gender the minister provided - 133 deaths for boys and 89 cases for girls - brings the total to 222 cases.

A total of 154 of the cases have been resolved, he added.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail

In late December last year and early January this year, news of two young children who were abused to death rocked the country.

In the December case, a four-year-old boy in Johor died due to serious injuries believed to be from physical abuse and torture at the hands of his older sister’s friends.

A week later, it was reported that a woman’s boyfriend allegedly abused and killed her six-year-old disabled daughter.

Data from the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry between January and June 2022 also revealed that there was a total of 1,055 child abuse cases.

Of the total, 706 cases involved girls while 349 involved boys. - Mkini