Two boys, aged five and 13, were allegedly abused by a woman and her new husband in Kota Kinabalu, resulting in scald burns and wounds on their bodies. The abuse included splashing the boys with hot water, pressing them with hot irons and heated spoons, as well as beating them with iron rods.
Police were alerted to the abuse after a man noticed burn marks on the 13-year-old boy, who came to a snooker outlet to sell burgers. The man then lodged a police report after receiving a photo of the teenager’s burn scars.
The suspects, a woman aged 36 and a man aged 27, who are both burger sellers, were arrested from their rented house in Keningau town. The investigation revealed that the teenager is the woman’s stepson from her previous marriage, while the younger boy was adopted by the suspects.
The woman was previously married to the teenager’s father, but when her husband was jailed for drug abuse, the boy continued to be under her care. After she remarried, she and her new husband adopted the younger boy. The abuse took place between March 24 and 30 at their rented house.
The teenager was subjected to abuse with hot irons, pressed on his abdomen and back multiple times, and hit with wood and iron rods for lying about selling burgers and coming home late. The woman also spilled hot water on the floor and asked the younger boy to step on it, scalding his feet.
Another incident involved the woman pressing a hot iron on the boy’s arms for not changing his diapers immediately after waking up. Both suspects have previous records related to drug cases and are currently remanded for investigation under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 for ill-treatment, neglect, abandonment, or exposure of children.
Overall, the abuse inflicted on the two boys is a disturbing and tragic case that highlights the importance of protecting children from such cruelty and ensuring that justice is served for these innocent victims.
