MUM HELD OVER ALLEGED ABUSE

Woman’s year-old son in coma

AN Indonesian woman has been detained by police on suspicion of abusing her son after a doctor claimed that the 1-year-old is suffering from a brain haemorrhage. The 26-year-old housewife, whose visa had expired in March, was arrested on Friday, a day after the boy was admitted to Kepala Batas Hospital.

The toddler, who slipped into a coma, was then transferred to Seberang Jaya Hospital and later to Penang Hospital.

The woman had told police that the boy fell down and knocked his forehead on the floor in the living room while playing at their home in Paya Lahar Kepar here at 4.30pm on Thursday.

She also told police that there were bruises on her son’s head after the fall and he soon became weak.

The child was taken to Kepala Batas Hospital when his father, a Malaysian, returned home at 4.50pm. The couple married in Indonesia.

Seberang Prai Utara district police chief Assistant Commissioner Noorzainy Mohd Noor said the doctor, who attended to the child, claimed that there was internal bleeding in the head.

“The boy also had bruises on his chest, left leg and under his left eye. Initial checks could not determine if the injuries were voluntarily inflicted or otherwise.

“However, a child specialist at Kepala Batas Hospital said the injuries in the head were (likely caused by a) blunt trauma impact against the child’s forehead and right cheek.

“There were also bruises on his body, which are of different colours. Doctors believed the injuries were voluntarily inflicted and not the result of an accident,” he said yesterday.

Noorzainy said the woman’s neighbours told police that they saw the child playing on the five-foot way of the house at 10am on Thursday, but was taken out, in a seemingly almost lifeless condition, at 4.30pm the same day.

“Neighbours claimed that whenever the husband goes out, the child would get beaten. If he is around, the wife will act nicely.

“They believe the mother is suffering from a mental disorder as the boy was left alone outside the house, in the rain, when he was still using the baby walker.”

The case is being investigated under Section 31(1)(2) of the Child Act 2001.

The woman has been remanded for 14 days to assist in investigation.