KULIM, Aug 26 — Police have arrested six individuals, including a 24-year-old woman who recently gave birth, in connection with the suspected trafficking of a baby in Sungai Petani.

Kedah police chief Datuk Adzli Abu Shah said the case was detected after a medical officer at a hospital in the Kuala Muda district found that the baby’s mother had used another woman’s identity card during registration last Friday.

“The baby boy was born on August 21 to an unmarried woman. The mother used the identity and identification documents belonging to another 27-year-old woman.

“The action is believed to have been taken to enable the baby to be registered with the National Registration Department (JPN) as the child of the 27-year-old woman,” he told reporters at the Kulim District Police Headquarters (IPD) here today.

He said all six local suspects, aged between 24 and 50, were arrested in the Sungai Petani area and remanded for 11 days until September 1 to assist investigations.

“One of the male suspects, aged 37, who is believed to be the middleman, admitted to paying RM9,000 in medical expenses and giving RM8,000 to the woman who gave birth to the baby,” he said.

The case is being investigated under Section 14 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007 (Act 670) and Section 48 of the Child Act 2001 (Act 611).

He said the 27-year-old woman and her 41-year-old partner had been childless since marrying five years ago.

The baby is currently receiving treatment at Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital (HSAH) in Sungai Petani under the care of the Social Welfare Department (JKM).

Meanwhile, on a separate case involving the discovery of a body at an oil palm estate in Kampung Sungai Division, Kuala Muda last Sunday, Adzli said police had remanded four men for seven days until August 31 to assist investigations.

He said the suspects, aged between 26 and 37, each had previous criminal records involving drugs and other offences.

“The motive is believed to have stemmed from a fight after the victim was alleged to have stolen belongings of one of the suspects,” he said.

Adzli said the victim’s family from Kulim had come forward to identify the deceased, but the identification process was still ongoing through identity tracing and facial recognition before the body could be handed over to the family.

He said the post-mortem found that the victim died from injuries caused by a blow to the back of the head.

Police also found a wooden stick in a river believed to have been used as the weapon, with the case being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code. — Bernama