Girl dies after suspected abuse by stepfather

KUALA LUMPUR: An 11-year-old girl died, believed to have been abused by her stepfather in an incident at Taman Sri Ramal, Kajang, here on Monday.

Kajang district police chief ACP Mohd Zaid Hassan said police received a report from a medical officer at Serdang Hospital regarding a girl who was brought to the hospital, at 12.39 am Tuesday.

He said the officer stated that the hospital's Emergency and Trauma Department Red Zone received the girl, who was taken by an ambulance from her home, in an unconscious state at 11.33 pm on Monday.

"The examination found that the victim had died on the way to the hospital. The post-mortem conducted by specialist doctors today found that the cause of the victim's death is believed to be the impact of a blunt object on the head and abdomen, which caused the intestine to rupture.

"There are also injury scars and bruises on the victim's bottom, chest and arm," he said in a statement last night.

He said a 53-year-old local man who is the victim's stepfather was arrested at the hospital premises at 2.25 pm today to assist in the investigation into the case.

Mohd Zaid said further investigation revealed that the suspect confessed to having beaten the victim using his hand, feet and a bucket in the toilet out of anger, as he claimed the victim often caused problems at home while her mother was away.

The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, and the remand application will be made tomorrow (Thursday), he added.

"We urged the public or any individual who has information about this incident to come forward by contacting the nearby police station or the investigating officer ASP Ray Erindra Raj at 019-6616640," he said.

-- BERNAMA