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SINGAPORE - A 23-year-old man has been charged with murder following the death of a boy on Monday, local Malay-language daily Berita Harian (BH) reported today.
Three-year-old Danish Iman Abdullah was pronounced dead at 3:30 am at KK Hospital after sustaining serious injuries to his body and head.
Six days before his death, he was warded in the intensive care unit after losing consciousness.
Yesterday, the police released a statement that a man identified as Mohd Rafiq Jaafar, 23, was arrested on Dec 16.
He was charged for causing serious injuries to the victim at a trial the following day, but it was subsequently amended to murder after Danish died. If convicted, Mohd Rafiq will face the death sentence.
Mohd Rafiq was said to be a friend of the victim's mother, "Nurul", 22, and they were believed to be living together in a rented flat before the incident, BH reported.
When BH visited the house yesterday, a man, believed to be the victim's father, refused to be interviewed.
Danish's death certificate indicates that cause of death was due to a traumatic injury to the head.
A family friend who visited Danish at the hospital said: "His whole body was covered in black and blue bruises, his left leg was broken and the doctor said that he suffered from brain damage."
He looked distraught and was asking questions about what had happened to Danish before he suffered the serious injuries.
"When I visited him last weekend, he was in such a bad state. He was unconscious and the doctor informed us that his chances of survival were very slim," the family friend told BH.
He said that the last time he saw and played with the victim was around three to four months ago.
"After that, the victim's mother disappeared and we do not know what happen to her or her child.", he added.
BH understands that "Nurul" has not lived with her family at Serangoon Avenue 2 since a few months back.
"We are not sure about their relationship or Rafiq's occupation. We're also not sure whether they live in Kallang or Geylang Bahru," he said with grief.
He remembers Danish as an adorable boy who loves to be pampered.
Danish was buried at the Pusara Abadi cemetery yesterday at around 5pm.
According to the police, the suspect is currently detained at the CID, Cantonment Complex.
The Malay daily also reported that this is the sixth case known so far - including the Nonoi case in March 2006 - which involved the torture of Malay children by their father or mother's lover between 2006 till now.
In the Nonoi tragedy, two-year-old Nurasyura Mohd Fauzi or Nonoi was tortured with her head dunked in a pail of water. After her death, her body was left under a flyover. Her stepfather, Mohammed Ali Johari, 30, was sentenced to death in 2008.
