JOHOR BARU: Aslindah Md Sahat could not stop feeling guilty for not heeding the bruises on her granddaughter, who later died as a suspected victim of child abuse.
The 49-year-old said she was the closest to two-year-old Nur Shahana Al Quddus among her 16 grandchildren.
“She referred to me as mama while my other grandkids call me nenek.
“I am still reeling from her death and heartbroken that my sweet granddaughter is no more,” she said at her house in Kampung Sentosa here yesterday.
Aslindah said she last saw the child on Dec 31 at Sultan Ismail Hospital, where they hugged and kissed.
She added that after her son and Nur Shahana’s mum divorced, the court granted custody of the child to the mother.
“If I’d listened to my heart, my granddaughter might still be alive,” she said.
Her granddaughter was buried at Cahaya Baru Muslim cemetery yesterday morning.
The police arrested a 22-year-old single mother and her 33-year-old boyfriend after the girl died at the hospital on Monday from what were believed to be injuries sustained from physical abuse
The victim is also said to have had multiple injuries including bite marks on her arms and abdomen.
Hospital staff who had found the marks on the girl’s body lodged a police report.
The post-mortem found that her death had been caused by a blunt force trauma to the head.
The suspects were arrested at the hospital’s compound at about 4am on Tuesday.
The single mother and her child have been renting a room with her boyfriend at an apartment in Kempas for more than a year.
It is learned that the mother would place the victim under her boyfriend’s care whenever she went to work.
When contacted, Johor police’s Criminal Investigation Department chief SAC Md Yusof Ahmad confirmed the arrest.
“We have classified the case under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder,” he said.
He added that the suspects were under remand for seven days to assist investigations.
The 49-year-old said she was the closest to two-year-old Nur Shahana Al Quddus among her 16 grandchildren.
“She referred to me as mama while my other grandkids call me nenek.
“I am still reeling from her death and heartbroken that my sweet granddaughter is no more,” she said at her house in Kampung Sentosa here yesterday.
Aslindah said she last saw the child on Dec 31 at Sultan Ismail Hospital, where they hugged and kissed.
She added that after her son and Nur Shahana’s mum divorced, the court granted custody of the child to the mother.
“If I’d listened to my heart, my granddaughter might still be alive,” she said.
Her granddaughter was buried at Cahaya Baru Muslim cemetery yesterday morning.
The police arrested a 22-year-old single mother and her 33-year-old boyfriend after the girl died at the hospital on Monday from what were believed to be injuries sustained from physical abuse
The victim is also said to have had multiple injuries including bite marks on her arms and abdomen.
Hospital staff who had found the marks on the girl’s body lodged a police report.
The post-mortem found that her death had been caused by a blunt force trauma to the head.
The suspects were arrested at the hospital’s compound at about 4am on Tuesday.
The single mother and her child have been renting a room with her boyfriend at an apartment in Kempas for more than a year.
It is learned that the mother would place the victim under her boyfriend’s care whenever she went to work.
When contacted, Johor police’s Criminal Investigation Department chief SAC Md Yusof Ahmad confirmed the arrest.
“We have classified the case under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder,” he said.
He added that the suspects were under remand for seven days to assist investigations.
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