Daring escape: The boy standing on a ledge as he attempted to flee the apartment on the fourth floor of a condominium in Jalan Cahaya, Ampang. (Right) The bruises seen on the boy’s body.
AMPANG: A neighbour at a condominium where an eight-year-old boy and his six-year-old sister were allegedly physically abused claimed that the children were not allowed to play with other children staying at the building.
A resident who just wanted to be identified as Lee said he never saw the boy except on the day when he attempted to escape through a window located on the fourth floor.
“Previously, I heard voices of children shouting from the top floor but I couldn’t pinpoint which unit they came from.
“I informed the other residents but we also couldn’t detect where the shouts were coming from,” he said when met at the condominium in Taman Cahaya yesterday.
He said he suspected the shouts were coming from the unit where the boy was staying after other residents claimed to have seen the boy tied up on the apartment balcony about two weeks ago.
“Most of the residents do not really know the aunt and uncle as they did not mingle with the other residents.
“However, after the balcony incident, the community leader met both of the adults and advised them not to mistreat the children under their care,” Lee said.
Meanwhile, Ampang Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Mohamad Farouk Eshak said the boy’s aunt and uncle have been remanded for seven days since yesterday.
“Initial investigations revealed that the boy and his sister were allegedly assaulted by the suspects and had been kept in a locked room since a few months ago.
“We are still investigating the matter and we have recorded the statements of neighbours and other residents at the condominium,” he said.
He revealed that the two children were very hungry when they were brought to the Ampang Jaya police headquarters after they were rescued.
On Friday, firefighters and members of the public rescued a boy who was trying to run away from suspected abusers on the fourth floor of the condominium.
Police later detained a woman, 33, and her husband, 29, after the boy was found with bruises all over his body.
Police later found his younger sister, aged six, with similar bruises.
ACP Mohamad Farouk said the two children had been left in the care of the suspects for the last two years following the death of their father.
“They stayed with the suspects after their father died. The birth mother does not want to take care of the two victims,” he said.
