A boy aged two years and 11 months was reported beaten and trampled by his step-uncle in their house at Taman Bagan Jaya flats in Butterworth, Penang last night.

In the 9.15pm incident, the toddler sustained bruises and swells on the face and body and suffered from breathing difficulties.

The child was taken by his mother for treatment at Seberang Jaya Hospital and was reported to be in stable condition, said North Seberang Perai police chief ACP Noorzainy Mohd Noor.

He said in this regard, police detained a 32-year-old man at 1.19am after receiving a report on the incident by the boy’s mother.

“The toddler was sleeping in a room before the man stepped on the victim’s face and beat him on the body until the boy had breathing difficulties.

"The mother who was outside the house hear her son‘s cries, rushed in and saved the boy from further beatings by the step-uncle (suspect),” he said in George Town today.

Noorzainy said the unemployed suspect was found positive for drugs and was now remanded for four days to assist investigations.

Meanwhile in another development, he said two Myanmar teenagers, aged 12 and 14 were caught for breaking into a factory in the Mak Mandin area near here.

“The two boys were apprehended by the factory security guard at 4.05am,” he said.

He said investigations found they were involved in several factory thefts and one of the teenagers is a United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) cardholder while the other boy was not carrying any travel documents.

- Bernama