M'sia man, 40, charged for murdering 18-month-old son & possessing obscene material

A Malaysian man, 40, has been handed the murder charge for causing the death of his 18-month-old son in 2023.

The charge comes nearly three years after the infant was admitted to the emergency department by his father in the early morning of Sep. 13, 2023 with signs of abuse.

He died hours later, with police suspecting he had been sodomised before his death.

According to local media, initial samples collected as evidence proved insufficient to identify a suspect.

However, the latest investigations led to the baby's father and uncle's arrest, with the former found to be in possession of pornographic material.

New evidence also led to the case being reclassified as murder.

Initial signs of abuse

The infant's father, G Thevendhiran, brought his unconscious son to a hospital in Johor Bahru, Malaysia at about 1:18am on Sep. 13, 2023, reported The Star.

The victim later fell into a coma and died at 10:40am the same morning.

According to doctors, the death was caused by blunt force trauma to the abdomen.

The child was also found to have bruises on the waist, a bloated abdomen and swelling around the anus, leading to suspicions that he had been beaten and sodomised.

A police report was then lodged by a doctor in the hospital.

Insufficient evidence

The case was initially investigated as child neglect resulting in death, police said on Jul. 28.

13 individuals, including the victim's family members and babysitter, were interviewed and called in to assist with the investigation, according to New Straits Times.

However, the traces of fluid found around the baby's anus, believed to be semen, were deemed insufficient for analysis and comparison.

No suspect was arrested at the time, though police said investigations continued.

New evidence leading to arrest

Nearly three years later, further investigations led to the arrest of Thevendhiran, a customer service officer working in Singapore, as well as the infant's 35-year-old uncle on Jul. 18 and Jul. 22, respectively.

While the former had no prior criminal record, the latter was found to have 13 criminal and drug-related offences.

Police also confirmed he tested positive for cannabis in a urine screening test, though he has since been released and will be a prosecution witness.

Meanwhile, pornographic images and videos were discovered on Thevendhiran's phone.

According to the police, investigations pointed to the fact that he had sodomised his infant son.

Thevendhiran was identified as the primary suspect. In court, the prosecution alleged that he had killed his son sometime between 8:30am and 10am on Sep. 12, 2023 at a condominium in Johor, Malay Mail reported.

Thevendhiran was sentenced to a month's jail and a fine of RM3,000 (S$951) for the possession of obscene materials.

The sentencing for his murder charge was adjourned to a later date.

For murder, he could face the death penalty or a maximum of 40 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane.