Teenager Remanded in Connection with Abandoned Baby Case in Tawau

A 17-year-old boy is being held for four days by the Magistrate's Court in Tawau, Malaysia, as police investigate the discovery of a newborn baby girl. The infant was found abandoned in a bush near a house in Kampung Jawa on Tuesday. The court issued the remand order until July 26 for the suspect, who is 17 years old, to allow police to complete their investigation and collect DNA samples under Section 317 of the Penal Code.

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The breaches are too many. Here is what is happening now, colleagues. We are getting documents from the Integrity Commission (IC) for principals to be investigated… Accountability is stepping up.

The investigation application was submitted by Inspector Robiatul Adawiyah Japri from the Criminal Investigation Department of the Tawau District Police Headquarters. The baby, believed to be newly born, was found by the public around 6 a.m. in a bush near a house in Kampung Jawa. An ambulance team from the Ministry of Health Malaysia rushed to the scene after receiving a call from the public and transported the baby to Tawau Hospital for further examination.

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Stakeholders in the communities are writing to the ministry. They talk about what they observe in schools. They go to a school and they get no receipt for the money they pay. They call you and ask if they should get a receipt and what it should look like.

Following the incident, police arrested two teenage couples in Kampung Jawa, near the location where the baby was found, at 10:40 p.m. on the same day. The 15-year-old girl is currently in the hospital for follow-up treatment. However, the male suspect was remanded for 14 days under the custody of the Malaysian Immigration Department for lacking valid identification documents.

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Do you know where we tend to find the bulk of the breaches now? The primary schools. It’s a serious problem.