PERMATANG PAUH: An 11-year-old girl, believed to have been abused by her stepmother, was rescued by the police from her home in the Ampang Jajar flats here today.
Malaysian Tamilar Kural president David Marshel said the matter came to light after they received a call from the victim’s neighbour about 10am today, alerting them to the incident.
He said he then asked the neighbour to take photograph of the victim, which clearly showed her with swollen eyes before lodging a police report.
“The police, along with us, went to the girl’s flat about 2pm today to rescue her from her family.
“We then brought her to Seberang Jaya Hospital for a medical check up and treatment,” he said.
David said the victim claimed that she was hit by her stepmother on the head with a helmet, causing both her eyes to swell.
“There were also injuries to her forehead. Her hands and legs were also swollen.
“Doctors who attended to her also told us that there were old injuries on the victim,” he added.
David said they have contacted the state Welfare Department to see how it can assist the victim’s other siblings.
Seberang Prai Tengah district police chief Assistant Commissioner Nik Ros Azhan Nik Ab Hamid confirmed the incident.
“The victim’s 38-year-old stepmother, a housewife, and 36-year-old father, a mechanic, have been detained to assist the investigation.
“Our checks showed the stepmother had a previous record for theft while the father, four records for drugs and other criminal offences,” he said.
He said checks also showed that the victim had stopped schooling since 2019.
“We believed she had been abused for the past one year by the stepmother using blunt objects such as helmet, stick and hanger,” he added.
Nik Ros Azhan said the girl will undergo X-ray and CT scan soon.