Melaka police arrest parents over suspected abuse after a two-month-old sustains head injuries

MELAKA, May 7 — Police in Melaka have arrested a couple after their two-month-old baby boy was admitted to the hospital with severe head injuries, suspected to be the result of abuse at a residence in Sungai Petai, Alor Gajah.

Melaka police chief Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said the infant was brought to Melaka Hospital in an unconscious state by his 22-year-old mother, who claimed the child had experienced a seizure.

“Medical personnel discovered both recent and older injuries on the baby and subsequently notified the police,” he said in a statement yesterday.

The mother was arrested at the hospital’s paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) on Tuesday evening. Her partner, also 22, was later taken into custody on suspicion of being involved in the abuse.

Dzulkhairi noted that both individuals are unemployed and reside in Semenyih, Selangor. Preliminary drug tests returned negative results.

Police are expected to apply for a remand order at the Alor Gajah Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

The case is being investigated under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 for child abuse or neglect, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a fine of RM50,000, or both upon conviction. — Bernama