JOHOR BARU: Johor police have received instructions to charge the suspect in the death of A. Tishant, the boy who was reported missing and believed to have died of strangulation.
State police chief Comm Datuk M. Kumar said the suspect, who is the child’s father, would only be charged once the Jempol district police headquarters in Negri Sembilan completes its investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
He noted that in Johor, the investigations against the suspect were carried out under Section 323 of the Penal Code, Section 18 of the Domestic Violence Act 1994 read together with Section 326A of the Penal Code, for allegedly assaulting his wife, as well as Section 31(1) of the Child Act 2001.
“Our investigation includes the suspect’s police report, which states that his son had gone missing, as well as a report from his wife claiming he assaulted her,” Comm Kumar told a press conference at the Johor police headquarters here on Saturday (Aug 3).
He said the first police report was lodged by the suspect’s wife on July 22, in which she claimed she was physically abused by the suspect, who also took their only child away.
Police subsequently opened an investigation paper under Section 323 of the Penal Code and Section 18 of the Domestic Violence Act, leading to the suspect’s arrest.
“Upon completing investigations, the suspect was released on police bail.
“He then lodged a police report alleging that he had left the child inside a car before the child went missing, so we opened another investigation paper under Section 31(1) of the Child Act for child neglect, and also began a missing persons investigation,” he said.
Comm Kumar added that during the suspect’s statement recording, there were inconsistencies and suspicious elements.
“Due to the suspicious nature of his statement, we re-arrested the suspect and obtained a remand order in Johor.
“Further probe later revealed the truth, leading to the discovery of the boy’s remains in Jempol, Negri Sembilan,” he added.
The suspect was then handed over to the Negri Sembilan police for further investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
Tishant was reported missing in Taman Bukit Indah here on July 24. Four days later, his body was discovered buried in Rompin, Jempol.
On July 29, strangulation was identified as the cause of death of the child.
