Three detained on suspicion of abusing two adopted girls

Selama district police chief DSP Loo Lian Lay said the 44-year-old woman, together with her 15-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter were arrested after the complainant (a nurse) examined the two girls at a kindergarten in Sungai Bayor at 4.03pm on July 31.

He said the complainant found that there were traces of old injuries on the hands of the first victim, aged five, and scars, believed to have been caused by the rotan (cane), on the back of the second victim, aged six.

"The preliminary investigations also found the two victims had been adopted since May 2015 through the Social Welfare Department (SWD)," he said in a statement here today.

He said the findings also revealed that the woman's intention to adopt the children was to collect an allocation of RM250 per child (from SWD).

Loo said based on the preliminary statements of the two victims, the foster mother and sister had allegedly often beaten them with a rotan, pinched them and inserted a finger into their private parts while the adopted brother had put out cigarettes on the body and thighs of the victims.

Both victims were referred to the Selama Hospital for examination and preliminary results revealed that there were severe rotan marks, as well as burn marks from cigarette butts on the body and injuries on both victims' private parts, he said.

He said the two victims had been referred to the Taiping Hospital for further examination and the case was investigated under Section 14 (a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001.