GOMBAK: The police have detained an Indonesian woman and five others in connection with the suspected abuse and subsequent death of a five-year-old disabled girl.
Among those detained were the victim's father and grand-aunt.
Gombak OCPD Asst Comm Arifai Tarawe said initially the girl's death on Dec 30 was classified as a sudden death.
"However, a post-mortem conducted at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital revealed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the stomach that led to severe damage to her intestines.
"We then detained six people on Jan 1," he told a press conference at the Rawang Police Station on Wednesday (Jan 6).
ACP Arifai said the victim's parents have been living apart since 2017 and she was under the care of her grand-aunt.
"Based on bruises on her arms, we believe she was abused using a cane. We also believe she was kicked and stepped on as well," he added.
ACP Arifai added that the investigation led the police to believe that the grand-aunt is the main suspect.
"Due to her disability, the victim could not walk and needed to be assisted for any type of movement. She also could not control her bowel movements. We believe frustration over her disability led to the abuse," ACP Arifai said.
The suspects are aged between 24 and 55 and have been remanded until Jan 7, he added.
"We are classifying the case under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder," he said.
