State police chief Ab Rahaman Arsad said preliminary investigations found that the elder brother had played the children’s online game Roblox quite extensively, accumulating about a million points in the game.

The victim is said to have damaged the brother’s phone recently, causing him to lose all the points he had collected, Berita Harian reported.

“We found that the injury suffered by the child may have been inflicted by his older brother. The motive is still under investigation, but there’s a possibility it’s linked to the game in the smartphone.

“It is believed that the victim’s brother took a knife that was in their home and harmed the victim. Further investigations are ongoing,” he was quoted as saying.

Rahaman added that the victim was in stable condition and recuperating at Batu Pahat Hospital. His statement has yet to be taken.

He said both the victim and his brother were now under the supervision of the social welfare department. The investigation papers have been referred to the state legal adviser for further action.

The children’s parents, both aged 41, have been remanded for two days to facilitate investigations.

Their lawyer, Izwan Ishak, said the police needed more time to question them as they had given conflicting information when giving their statements.

The victim’s mother reported the incident on Monday morning, having found her son injured when she woke up at 5.30am.