A Malaysian couple has been charged, separately, with gross violation of their children's integrity and for assault at a district court in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, today.

Prosecutor Anna Arnelle said in a statement Shalwati Norshal and Azizul Raheem are charged with assaulting their children from Sept 15, 2010 to Dec 17, 2013 at their residence in Sweden.

The trial is set to begin on Feb 18, and expected to last for 10 days.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hamzah Zainudddin when contacted in Kuala Lumpur this evening confirmed the latest development pertaining to the couple.

Shalwati Norshal, a teacher on unpaid leave, and her husband Azizul Raheem, a Tourism Malaysia officer in Sweden, have been remanded since Dec 18 last year for hitting the hands of one of their sons for not praying.

The couple's four children, who were previously placed under the care of a Swedish non-Muslim foster family because of the case, were handed over to the Malaysian Embassy in Sweden on Jan 30.

The next day, the children were flown back to Malaysia and are now being taken care of by an aunt and uncle in Kelantan.

- Bernama