JOHOR BARU: Police arrested the parents of a five-year-old boy who died of circumstances related to physical abuse at the Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI) today.
Johor Baru South deputy police chief Superintendent Mohd Afzanizam Yahaya said the couple, aged 23 and 33, were picked up at their home in Bandar Dato' Onn, near here, at 11am.
He said HSI personnel alerted the police of the incident, saying that a boy was unconscious and brought to the hospital by the parents around midnight.
The boy was later pronounced dead at the emergency ward while receiving treatment.
"Doctors found bruises on the boy's body, face, chest and back, leading them to suspect physical abuse." he said.
Mohd Afzanizam added that police believed the boy had been tortured for some time based upon the injuries sustained.
"Our initial investigation revealed the woman is the boy's stepmother. She is an Indonesian national and has no passport or identification documents,” he said.
He said a post-mortem would be conducted to find out the cause of the boy’s death. The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.