Kuala lumpur: Police have arrested two local men here to assist in investigations into the murder of an 18-month-old boy in an incident that occurred in 2023. Johor police chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said the suspects, the victim's 40-year-old father and 35-year-old uncle, were arrested on July 18 and July 22, respectively.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the arrests were made following fresh developments in the case, including the discovery of pornographic images and videos on a mobile phone seized from one of the suspects. The victim's father is set to be charged under Section 302 and Section 292 of the Penal Code at the Johor Bahru Magistrate's Court, while the uncle will serve as a prosecution witness.

Ab Rahaman stated that the victim died at 10.40 am on September 13, 2023, from blunt force trauma to the abdomen, with suspicions of being beaten and sodomised. A report on the victim's death was lodged by a doctor at the Sultan Ismail Hospital Emergency Department after finding bruises, a bloated abdomen, and swelling.

The victim was brought to Sultan Ismail Hospital in an unconscious state by his father, who is employed as a labourer in Singapore. Initially, the case was investigated under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, with several individuals, including family members and the victim's babysitter, called to assist in the investigation. However, police lacked sufficient grounds for arrests at the time.

Ab Rahaman noted that blood samples were taken for DNA testing, but results were inconclusive, and semen traces detected could not be analysed.