TAIPING, MALAYSIA: Three people, including a woman, were detained over the death of a three-year-old boy believed from long-term physical abuse.

The suspects, one of them the boy's father, had sent the child to the Taiping Hospital at 3pm on Sunday but disappeared before the doctor could inform them that he had died.

Taiping Deputy OCPD Supt Syed A. Wahab Syed A. Majid said the suspects, aged between 21 and 37, surrendered themselves at the Taiping police station on Tuesday night.

He said some parts of the child's body had been scalded.

The boy's mother could not be located. The case is being investigated for murder.

The suspects have been remanded until Tuesday.