Four teens arrested over brutal murder of 20-month-old toddler

KOTA KINABALU: A 20-month-old girl has been brutally murdered, allegedly by four teenagers who battered the child on Friday (Sept 20) morning.

The incident happened at Kg Egang-Egang on Bum-Bum Island here when the girl's mother had asked the four teenagers – aged between 16 and 19 – to look after her child when she was away.

The four teenagers were the mother's housemates.

However, when she would not stop crying, one of the teenagers began slapping the girl and threw her onto a bed.

The suspect then pulled the toddler towards her and her head hit the metal frame of the bed.

"Another suspect then stepped on the toddler's back," said Semporna police chief Supt Sabarudin Rahmat.

He said the mother – who is a 23-year-old divorcee – returned home at about noon and saw that her child was weak, pale and did not seem to be breathing.

She immediately took her daughter to the Semporna Hospital but the girl was pronounced dead about six hours later.

Supt Sabarudin said the mother lodged a police report at about 7.30pm and the suspects – three Filipinas and an Indonesian – were subsequently nabbed at 9.30pm.

The case is being investigated as a murder.