Toddler dies at babysitter, sexual abuse suspected

PETALING JAYA: A two-year-old toddler believed to be abused and sexually assaulted died in less than four hours after being sent to a babysitter at Section 51a here on Tuesday.
Police said doctors at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) found tears in her private parts and bruises all over her body.
The girl was identified as Rania Ixuna.
Petaling Jaya police chief ACP Mohd Zani Che Din said the case is classified as murder and police arrested four people — the child's mother, the mother's boyfriend, the babysitter and her husband — all in their 20's, soon after the victim's death on Tuesday evening.
He said investigators learnt that the victim's mother who works as a cashier had sent the girl to the babysitter at the Impian Baiduri flats about 1pm apparently in good health.
Mohd Zani said about an hour later, the babysitter contacted the woman and informed her that her daughter was unwell, weak and had vomited.
He said the woman went over at 4pm to fetch the victim but found the child unconscious.
The woman rushed the child to the UMMC's paediatric emergency room but doctors pronounced the toddler dead at 5.40pm.
Mohd Zani said post mortem findings also showed that Rania suffered blunt trauma to her abdomen.
He said further examination is under-way to determine the cause of injuries on her private parts.
Mohd Zani said investigators learnt that the girl's mother had been sending the victim to the babysitter over several months.
With the four suspects in custody, police are confident of solving the case soon.
Today, forensics police went over to the victim's house again to scour for more clues to the murder.
Rania's cruel death brings under the spotlight again the growing cases of child sexual abuse in the country and the government's effort to fight it.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak last Monday had announced on Monday that the government planned to establish a special court to hear child sexual crimes cases.
He said this was among the proposals included under the Child Sexual Crimes Bill, which will be tabled during the current Parliament meeting.
"A special court will be set up under the Child Sexual Crimes Bill. Justice must not only be done (and) seen to be done, it must also be done swiftly," Najib said at a two-day "Child Sexual Crimes" seminar at the Putra World Trade Centre on Monday.
The seminar, organised by Permata in cooperation with several ministries, was attended by almost 2,000 people who included wives of political leaders, academics, nursery operators and university students.
Najib said statistics from the Social Welfare Department revealed that 5,779 child sexual abuse cases were recorded between 2010 and 2015, with an average of 963 cases a year.
He said police statistics showed in 2015 and 2016, there were 2,759 cases of rape, 412 cases of incest, 1,423 cases of molest and 422 cases of unnatural sex involving children under the age of 18.
"These cases should not have happened. We should not allow our children to continue to be subjected to exploitation by sex predators," Najib said.
He urged all political parties to cooperate and pass the bill in the Dewan Rakyat in order to protect children.
At the closing of the seminar, the Prime Minister's wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, who is also leading the non-governmental charge against child sexual crimes, reminded participants that the fight against child sexual crime was a community effort and should not be left in the hands of a few.
"Do not leave so few people to fight for what matters to all of us. We must all keep up the momentum and do our part," she said.