Iskandar Puteri district police chief Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said police were informed at 12.20pm by a Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) staff member after the boy was sent to the hospital by his mother.

“Examination of the boy found there were injuries on the mouth and bruises on the front and back of his body, believed to be due to abuse.

“Preliminary investigations found that the victim was living with his mother and her lover, as well as a younger sibling and an older sister,” he said in a statement today.

He said that the boy was believed to have died while on the way to the hospital, and a post-mortem would be conducted to ascertain the actual cause of his death.

Following the incident, he said police had detained the boy’s mother, aged 35, and her 35-year-old boyfriend for investigations.

The victim’s two siblings were also sent to HSA for medical examination.

Both the suspects have previous records of child abuse and drug-related offences, he added.