JOHOR BAHRU: Tunku Mahkota of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim spent some time with a group of children with special needs including a Down Syndrome teenager Bella at the Legoland Malaysia Resort theme park, Iskandar Puteri, yesterday.

He was accompanied by his wife Che' Puan Besar Khaleeda Bustamam.

In a post on his Facebook account, Tunku Ismail hoped that the children would be able to enjoy their time at the theme park.

"Hopefully this can give them a little joy and happiness.

"It is very important for these children to be given proper protection and they also have the right to live a normal life like other human beings," he said.

Bella's plight went viral on social media after a woman claimed the young girl was splashed with hot water and tied up when under the care of an NGO's welfare home.

Following that, Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali, 30, was charged with two counts of abandonment and abusing a 13-year-old Down Syndrome girl, causing the victim to suffer physical and emotional injuries at a condominium in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur between February and June 2021.

-- BERNAMA