Ministry to obtain custody order on two siblings of abused victim

The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry (KPWKM) will endeavour to obtain a permanent custody order on two siblings of a five-year-old abused victim who died yesterday. Its minister, Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim said the order under the Child Act 2001 would be made on the elder and younger siblings of the abused victim aged eight and five years old. "However, the ministry would give the family and next of kin of the victim one month to claim custody on the two children. "If no family or next of kin comes to claim custody, we will obtain a permanent custody order from the court," she told reporters after officiating a women directors tour programme, here today. Yesterday, a five-year-old girl died at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh, after being in a coma for 11 days after she was believed to have been severely abused by her own mother. According to Perak Deputy Chief Police Officer, Datuk A. Paramasivam, the girl was confirmed dead at 2.40pm.