It started with a new bike, and ended in a toddler dying after he and his brother fought over the toy in Kampung Tanjung Bungah, Penang.
Aiman Afandi, who fought with his brother over the bicycle
Mohd Elia Danial Mazlan, 2, sustained internal injuries and died in hospital after he was believed to have been punched, slapped and kicked by his 4-year-old brother, Aiman Afandi at home.
Their mother, Madam Jumiati Ngaderan Harjo, 36, said that Aiman Afandi told her that he had fought with Mohd Elia over the bicycle.
Aiman Afandi had said that the bicycle was his since his younger brother already had a toy car.
'My son said he punched, slapped and stomped on his brother because the younger boy refused to let him have the bicycle,' Madam Jumiati told Utusan Malaysia.
'He said they were playfully fighting for the bicycle when he became angry and attacked his brother,' she told the Malaysian papers.
COMPLAINED
A police spokesman said the incident was believed to have happened between 6.30pm and 11pm on Saturday while Madam Jumiati, an Indonesian who has lived there for 10 years, had gone to relieve a colleague at a restaurant nearby.
He said that at the time of the incident, the boys' father, Mr Mazlan Ali, 44, was away in Kuala Lumpur working.
According to the spokesman, the mother had left the boys in the care of a family friend.
When the friend was called away for a while, the boys began to fight over the bicycle, reported the Malaysian newspapers.
When the friend returned, Mohd Elia did not appear injured but complained that his brother had beaten him.
'The family friend told me he sent him to bed after feeding him,' Madam Jumiati said.
'But he sensed something was not right with the child at about 11pm, when his lips turned blue. He then informed me.'
The mother then rushed the boy to hospital, where he died later.
The police have classified the case as sudden death.
No action will be taken against Aiman Afandi because Malaysian law states that a child under 10 cannot be held accountable for any criminal offence.
The spokesman said that, based on the post-mortem report, the police would conduct further investigations before referring the case to the Public Prosecutor's Office.
Pathology expert Dr Bhupinder Singh of Hospital Pulau Pinang confirmed that Mohd Elia died of head injuries - the result of severe blunt-force trauma.
He said an autopsy found that the boy suffered a swelling in the brain and internal haemorrhage.
He told the New Straits Times: 'The injury is believed to be the result of his having been pushed and falling on a hard surface.'
Madam Jumiati said that this was the first time she had left them alone.
Previously, she ran a business from home and looked after the boys herself.
She has tried telling Aiman Afandi that his brother is dead, but the boy does not seem to understand.
She said the boys were usually very close and shared things.
Mr Mazlan, who rushed back home upon hearing the sad news, said he had accepted the little boy's death.
He had last seen his youngest child about two weeks ago.
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What will you do to the 4 year old boy if you were the mother?
