Alleged autistic child abuse case marked NFA due to insufficient evidence - Police

SHAH ALAM - The alleged autistic child abuse at a childcare centre in Section 7, here, has been classified as No Further Action (NFA) due to insufficient evidence.

Shah Alam district police chief ACP Mohd Iqbal Ibrahim said police received a report regarding the alleged incident from the child’s mother at 11.18am on Jan 16, claiming that her husband had discovered red marks on the child’s back and under his right eye while bathing him at 9.30pm the night before.

"She also claimed to have noticed that the child was less active and interacted less than usual when she picked him up from the nursery that day.

"Investigations found that the child, who has been attending the nursery since 2022, has mild autism and faces communication difficulties, and this is the first time such incident was reported.

"A review of the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage at the premise did not show any evidence of the child being harmed,” he said in a statement today, adding that the childcare centre has been in operation since 2021 with a valid license from the Shah Alam City Council which will expire on March 14.

The statement follows the circulation of images online alleging that the autistic child sustained injuries while he was at a childcare centre in Shah Alam.

Iqbal said the case was investigated under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 and the investigation papers had been referred to the State Legal Advisor, who ruled that the case be classified as NFA due to the absence of CCTV footage and insufficient evidence to pursue further action.

"At this moment, there is no evidence to continue the investigation. However, if new evidence emerges from witnesses, police will resume the probe and submit the investigation papers to the Deputy Public Prosecutor for further directives,” he said.

Witnesses who have information regarding the incident are urged to contact Investigating Officer Insp S. Vemal at 011-39216101 to assist investigations.

Earlier, the child’s father had taken to Facebook, alleging that his eldest son was a victim of abuse and his injuries were not caused by a fall from a slide, as claimed by the teachers.

He also questioned why no remand arrests have been made against any nursery staff until now. - BERNAMA