2 children, aged 6 & 8, drown after car rolls into river in M'sia, father had gone out to take a smoke

Two children, an eight-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl, drowned after their family car, which was parked along Sungei Linggi in Port Dickson, suddenly rolled into the river.

The incident took place at around 11:45am on Sep. 4.

According to Port Dickson Police Superintendent Maslan Udin, the two children were resting in the car with a couple in their 40s along the riverbank just before the incident, as reported in The Star.

The couple was later revealed to be the children's father and his girlfriend.

Father stepped out to take a smoke

According to The Star, initial investigations revealed that at the time of the incident, the 46-year-old father, had stepped out of the car to smoke when the car suddenly rolled towards the river.

"The car, although the engine was switched off, suddenly rolled towards the river," Maslan reported.

Both the father's girlfriend and the two children were inside the car when it happened.

Only managed to rescue the woman in time

Though members of the public managed to rescue the girlfriend, the children were trapped in the car, The Star reported.

According to Maslan, rescue teams from the Fire and Rescue Department, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and Marine Department launched a rescue operation.

Bernama reported that the girl was eventually pulled out of the car at around 1:24pm, and the boy at 1:47pm.

They were both pronounced dead at the scene by medical officers.

Father had 16 prior records

Following this, police opened an investigation into their deaths under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.

Both the father and his girlfriend were arrested at around 8pm on the same day, following discrepancies in their statements regarding the incident.

Bernama reported that further investigations revealed that the father had 16 prior records, including four outstanding cases related to fraud and other crimes, while the woman had no criminal record.

Urine tests done on both of them also came back negative, Negeri Sembilan police chief Alzafny Ahmad stated.

However, it was discovered that the car that they were in had been reported missing earlier.

Both the father and his girlfriend have been remanded

On Sep. 5, a remand order for both the father and his girlfriend was issued, placing them in custody for a week to assist in investigations.

Alzafny revealed that though investigations into the motive behind the incident are still ongoing, the father and his girlfriend have not been fully cooperative in the investigations, Bernama reported.

"We are not getting this information directly from them, but from reports from the public. Until now, we have been unable to determine the motive, which remains under investigation," he stated.

Checks being conducted to verify religious status of the two children

According to Bernama, checks are currently being conducted by the Negeri Sembilan Islamic Religious Affairs Department (JHEAINS) to verify the religious status of the two children.

The director of JHEAINS, Muhammad Asri Abdullah, stated that they will manage the burial for the two children after their Islamic statuses are confirmed.

The department had received a request from the police to verify the children's religious status.

Asri stated that the children's father had claimed that the children's conversion to Islam was done in Kelantan, Malaysia, but further checks revealed no records.

There were also no such records found in Negeri Sembilan.

Speaking to Bernama, Asri explained that the department "relies on the confirmation of the biological parents regarding the children's religion status."

"They need to make a police report about it, and this will be used to authorise the burial," he said.

Citing the media, Bernama further reported that post-mortem procedures were conducted on the two children at Port Dickson Hospital on Sep. 5.

No family members or next-of-kin were present during the procedures.

Top photos from Bernama via Berita Harian, Gempaking/Facebook