Teacher’s alertness leads to arrest after 11-year-old girl allegedly beaten by adoptive mother

AN 11-year-old girl sustained injuries to her face and back after allegedly being beaten by her adoptive mother with a hose in an incident at a house in Taman Kim Hin, Saratok, on February 5.

The incident is believed to have occurred at about 6.30pm when the child asked what items she needed to bring for her Mathematics tuition class.

Saratok district police chief Deputy Superintendent Mathew Manggie said the case came to light after a teacher, who is also the girl’s neighbour, received a video recording capturing the sound of the child crying and being assaulted.

“The teacher later summoned the victim to the school office the following day for an examination and found bruises on the victim’s cheeks and back,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Mathew said the girl told police that she had been slapped on both cheeks and beaten with a hose by her 47-year-old adoptive mother.

Concerned for the child’s safety, the teacher lodged a police report on February 7.

Initial investigations found that the suspect is the girl’s adoptive mother and has been her legal guardian since the child was three years old.

“Investigations found that the victim’s biological father passed away in 2019, while her biological mother remarried in 2022,” Mathew said.

“Suspect is believed to have acted aggressively after the victim did not know what items were required for tuition, before taking a yellow hose from the kitchen and striking the victim on the back and slapping her cheeks.

“Further investigations found that the victim admitted she had been frequently beaten by the suspect over the past year,” he added.

Police subsequently arrested the suspect at Jalan Bunga Raya, Saratok, and seized the yellow hose believed to have been used in the assault as evidence.

The case is being investigated under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, and an application has been made to remand the suspect to facilitate further investigations.

“The investigation paper will be completed as soon as possible before being referred to the prosecution, and the case is considered resolved with the arrest of the suspect,” Mathew said. - February 9, 2026