KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — Johor police have received the green light to charge the father of a six-year-old boy, whose body was found buried in Jempol, Negeri Sembilan, last month.
According to Utusan Malaysia, Johor police chief Datuk M. Kumar said the suspect will face charges for allegedly assaulting his wife and lodging a false report about his son’s disappearance.
However, a murder charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code is being handled by Negeri Sembilan police and must be completed first, he added.
“The suspect will be charged in the Johor Bahru court after the investigation under Section 302 in Jempol is finalised,” he said during a press conference at the Johor police headquarters today.
Kumar said the suspect is being investigated in Johor under Sections 323 and 324 of the Penal Code, Section 18 of the Domestic Violence Act 1994, read together with Section 326A of the Penal Code for allegedly injuring his wife, and Section 31(1) of the Child Act 2001.
“We have received instructions to press charges, but it will proceed once the Section 302 case is concluded,” he added, as reported by Utusan Malaysia.
On July 24, the child was reported missing from Taman Bukit Indah, Iskandar Puteri. He was later found dead and buried in Rompin, Jempol. Negeri Sembilan police chief Datuk Ahmad Dzaffir Mohd Yussof confirmed the body was discovered after the arrest of the child’s 36-year-old father by Johor police.
A post-mortem revealed that the boy died from strangulation with a cable tie, Utusan Malaysia reported.
Kumar said the suspect’s wife lodged a police report at the Seri Alam district headquarters on July 22, alleging she had been assaulted. She also claimed her husband had absconded with their only child.
“Following her report, we opened an investigation under Section 323 of the Penal Code and Section 18 of the Domestic Violence Act. The suspect was arrested and later released on police bail,” he said.
The man later filed his own report, claiming he had left the child in a car and that the boy had gone missing. That led police to open another investigation under Section 31(1) of the Child Act 2001, as well as a missing person case.
“During questioning, his statements were inconsistent and raised suspicion. He was rearrested and remanded in Johor,” Kumar said, as quoted by Utusan Malaysia.
Further questioning led to the discovery of the boy’s remains. The suspect was later handed over to Negeri Sembilan police for investigations under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
