Girl, 13, escapes Ayurvedic massage centre with burn marks and bruises covering her body.
- Too poor to go to school, girl sent to health centre to learn massage techniques
- Raped by male client
- Abused by caretakers – hit with red-hot ladle, choked, punched, bitten in the ear, thrown, burned
The second child of eight siblings, the teen was left in the hands of two caretakers of a health centre in Semenyih because her parents were unable to support her.
“They can’t send her to school and had hoped that she would be able to learn the trade and support herself.
“The girl cried a lot. This angered the caretakers and they abused her,” Kajang OCPD Asst Comm Ahmad Dzaffir Mohd Yussof said.
He said the girl claimed that when she was first sent to the centre in May, she was taken to another massage centre in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, where she was forced to have sex with a male client.
Police are investigating the claim and have also notified the girl’s parents.
The girl’s harrowing experience came to light when she was sent to a client’s house in Taman Cheras Permata on Dec 21 to give a massage. The female customer noticed burn marks on the teen’s arms during the massage session.
“The girl told the client, a pregnant woman, that she did not want to go back to the centre and showed her the scars and bruises.
“The client alerted an activist from an NGO, who then lodged a police report on Thursday,” said Ahmad Dzaffir.
Besides claiming she was raped by a male client and burned by her caretakers, the girl also alleged that she was bitten and punched by her caretakers for months before she managed to escape.
The teen was examined at Hospital Selayang and her body was found to be covered in bruises and scald marks.
The two caretakers, including a woman, aged 41 and 54, have been arrested and are being investigated under Section 31(1) of the Child Act 2001 for child abuse.
“They admitted to hitting the girl with a red-hot ladle, choking, punching, biting her ear and throwing her,” Ahmad Dzaffir said.
The 54-year-old owner of the centre, meanwhile, is currently being treated for heart complications at Hospital Kuala Lumpur.