The missing boy is most likely to have been murdered and his body dumped into the Sarawak River.
Police have classified the case of a missing four-year-old boy, Eric Chang Wei Jie, as murder, according to Kuching district police chief ACP Ahsmon Bajah.
He said the case is now being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code. Previously, it was investigated under Section 31 (1)(a) of the Children Act 2001.
“Two suspects, namely a babysitter and her husband, have been arrested and will be remanded for further investigation.
“Search efforts are being conducted around the Muara Tebas river and the surrounding vicinity, with the assistance of the Kuching Region 5 marine police, Fire and Rescue Department, and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA),” he said in a statement last night.
The caretaker, who was arrested on March 9, confessed to the police today that she knew what transpired to Eric.
Both the caretaker and her husband were also brought to the Muara Tebas jetty by the police.
It was also revealed by the police that all four suspects tested positive for drugs and had a total of 17 criminal records to their names for drug-related offences, property crimes and commercial crimes.
Eric was reported missing from a house in the Bintawa residential area on March 7.