JOHOR BARU: A nine-month-old baby girl, suspected to be a victim of abuse, died at Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) on Friday morning (April 26).
The infant was brought to the hospital in critical condition by two foreign women and a local man on Thursday evening. Despite efforts, she succumbed to her injuries the following morning at 3.50am.
Authorities are actively seeking the infant's biological mother, believed to be Vietnamese, as investigations continue.
Johor Baru (North) police chief Assistant Commissioner Balveer Singh said the hospital's medical officers alerted the police when signs of abuse were suspected.
"A subsequent autopsy results confirmed criminal elements in the baby's death," he said.
Police detained the two foreigners and the local man, aged between 29 and 42, for questioning.
In follow-up investigations, a local married couple, assumed to be the child's caretakers, were also arrested.
All five suspects have been remanded for six days under Section 31 (1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 (Act 611) for abandoning, neglecting and exposing a child under their care to damage.
