GEORGE TOWN, Jan 7 — The parents of an eight-year-old girl will be remanded four days starting today to facilitate investigations for suspected child abuse after the father scalded her last month.

The 41-year-old man and his 34-year-old wife were arrested in front of a durian stall in Paya Terubong yesterday and brought to the Penang court complex here at about 11.35am today for the remand procedure.

Assistant registrar Muna Maria Azmi allowed the remand order of four days is effective from today.

The man, a mobile phone reload card agent, allegedly splashed hot water on his daughter in the early hours of December 27.

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It is believed that he had berated and beaten his four young children for eating his dinner left for him in the kitchen that night before splashing his second child with hot water.

The girl suffered mid-dermal burns on the right hand side of her torso and on her arms.

A neighbour who heard about the incident took her to the police station to lodge a police report and she was admitted to the hospital for treatment.

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The parents fled their home in Kampung Melayu immediately after that, taking their youngest child with them.

The police launched a manhunt for them before managing to trace them to Paya Terubong yesterday.

The case is being investigated under Section 13(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 for child abuse.