KUALA PILAH: A couple has been charged at the Magistrate’s Court here with abusing a toddler at their home in Felda Bukit Jalor in Tampin.

       No plea was recorded from Muhammad Afiq Abdullah, 23, the victim’s stepfather who is a cashier at a petrol pump station, and his 17-year-old wife.

       The couple was charged with committing the offence between Aug 3 and 25, which caused the 16-month-old baby to suffer injuries to several parts of his body.

       They face a fine of up to RM50,000, or jail time for a maximum of 20 years or both upon conviction.

       The duo was arrested after police received a report from a medical officer at the Air Kuning Selatan government clinic who noticed the toddler’s injuries.

       The baby was apparently punched in the face and had burn marks on his body, believed to be from cigarette butts and an iron.

       The victim, he said, would be handed over to his grandmother.

       The couple, he said, got married eight months ago and took the baby from the care of his grandmother two weeks before the abuse started.