Sweden child abuse trial: Girl tells Swedish court she prefers her aunts

STOCKHOLM: The daughter of the Malaysian couple in Sweden on trial for allegedly hitting their children said she was estranged from her parents and regarded her aunts as her “real mum”.

“I’m close to my mum’s sisters, I feel they’re like my real mum. I don’t feel close to my actual mum,” said Aishah.

Upon hearing this, her mother Shalwati Nurshal pulled back in her seat while her father Azizul Raheem Awalluddin looked down and rubbed his temples with his thumbs.

Aishah’s parents were detained on Dec 18 last year after their eldest son Ammar told staff at his school that he had been hit by them.

When asked if she liked her father, Aishah said she was not close to him either and preferred to be alone in her room.

During the pre-recorded interview shown in the Solna district court on Tuesday, Aishah recalled a fight with her mother over some clothes an aunt bought for Aishah.

“One time, my aunt bought me jeans and my mum said that it was supposed to be under RM50.

“But I got two pairs of jeans for about RM100 instead so my mum scolded me, saying it was too expensive,” she added.

Asked how it made her feel, Aishah said: “Angry and sad.”

In an earlier interview, Aishah said that all the siblings wanted to live with their aunt in Malaysia after spending some time in a Swedish foster home.

Aishah and her siblings – Ammar, 12, Adam, 11, and Arif, seven – were placed in the custody of their aunt Shalena Hisham Makhzan and her husband Nik Farid Nik Abdullah when they returned to Malaysia on Feb 1.

The siblings have since been attending school and living in Kota Baru, Kelantan.

On Feb 10, Shalwati and Azizul were charged with multiple counts of gross violation of a child’s integrity by hitting and abusing their children.

The alleged offences took place in the family’s home in Spanga, a suburb here, between Sept 15, 2010 and Dec 17, 2013.

The trial continues tomorrow.