Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah
KUCHING: Police have yet to decide whether to take action under the Child Act 2001 against the parents of Desmen Davei, who was found dead after disappearing on Nov 6.
Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah disclosed that the case is still under investigation based on relevant factors under Section 33 of the Act, which views ‘leaving a child without reasonable supervision’ as an offence.
“As of now, the police have yet to decide whether to take action against the caretaker or the parents of the child under the Act, as informed by the State CID chief Datuk Dev Kumar,” she said when asked to comment on the latest development in the case yesterday.
Fatimah pointed out that the victim’s parents will be investigated, and if there was information or evidence of criminal element in the child’s death, or negligence or abuse, police will take action against the perpetrators.
Two-year-old Desmen went missing from his house at Kampung Ruan Baru, Simunjan. His decomposed body was found on Sunday, five kilometres from his village on the top of Bukit Ruan.
His body was identified by family members based on the shirt he was wearing on the day of his disappearance.
“I was informed that the doctor could not identify the cause of death of the child due to the physical condition of the remains that was already decomposing,” added Fatimah.
She reiterated that police had yet to find any evidence to explain how the toddler’s body ended up some five kilometres from his house.