SUNGAI PETANI: Every day, the man would lock his companion and her two children in their three-room flat before leaving.
He forgot to do so yesterday. And the frightened 26-year-old woman, cradling her critically injured four-year-old daughter, ran to her neighbour for help, telling her that she “cannot stand the 34-year-old unemployed man anymore”.
The little girl was rushed to the Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital when police arrived at the Paya Nahu flats soon after they received a distress call. She is in critical condition.
Worse was yet to come. Police later found the woman’s other child – a two-year-old boy – in a cooler box, dead. The body was wrapped and taped in a thin mattress, then covered with ice and placed in the cooler box that was sealed with tape.
“We arrested the woman’s companion at the Paya Nahu flats at about 6am. We also detained the woman,” said Kuala Muda OCPD Asst Comm Md Zukir Md Isa.
“We believe she and her companion had abused the children. The man from Taman Sri Wang and the woman from Taman Seri Aman also tested positive for amphetamine.”
He said a police patrol team was sent to the flats after receiving a distress call from the neighbour at 1.25am.
“The four-year-old girl had been beaten and injured. She was rushed to the Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital for treatment when the police team arrived at 2am.
“The police team found the dead boy in the cooler box that was kept in the room where they slept. The woman claimed her companion had beaten the child to death on Nov 9,” he added.
The couple have been remanded until Nov 30 to facilitate investigations under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder and Section 325 of the Penal Code for causing grievous hurt.
Housewife Nor Khoshimah Johari, 26, said her neighbour knocked on her door at about midnight.
“The mother was carrying her daughter and she looked distraught. There were bruises on both of them, and the injuries on the little girl looked very bad.
“I let her in and she told me about the physical abuse and that she could not stand the man anymore.
Scene of the crime: Paya Nahu flats in Sungai Petani, Kedah.
“When I asked her about her son, she told me he had died and his body was kept inside the room where she stayed with her boyfriend.
“I was shocked and told her I was calling the police for help,” said Khoshimah when met at her flat.
She said the woman had also told her that her companion would lock her in the room whenever he went out. According to Khoshimah, the man moved into one of the units a year ago, and the mother had only moved in recently to live with him.
“About two months ago, the man came to me and asked if the woman and her two children could live at my place temporarily. I agreed and she stayed in one of my rooms. She was a nice woman.
“She moved in with the man last month, and I hardly heard of them since. I did not hear them quarrelling or shouting in their house. It was quiet,” said Khoshimah.
A lorry driver, who had also been staying in the unit with the couple, has packed up to leave.
“I am moving out. I do not want to be troubled by the man’s sins as we do not know each other well.
“We do not pay rent here as the owner has passed away and we are only using the place for shelter.
“There was no foul smell in the house and I did not suspect anything amiss. All this comes as a shock,” said the 29-year-old who wished to be known only as Mohd Hisham.
He added the cooler box belonged to him and it had been missing for two weeks.
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