JOHOR BARU - SINGAPOREAN Shawal Senin, 31, was charged with the murder of his seven-year-old stepson Siwakorn Sukuntha, a Thai national, at a magistrates court here on Tuesday.

Siwakorn was found dead at his home in an apartment building in Tampoi on Dec 27. There were several marks on his body, hands, legs and head.

Police first detained the boy's 30-year-old mother, who is also a Thai national, and Shawal.

Post-mortem showed that the boy had died from multiple injuries, especially from those inflicted on the head. He is believed to have been the victim of abuse.

Johor Baru police said that neighbours heard a commotion coming from the victim's home, and had alerted the police.

'We discovered the body in a room at the back of the apartment with multiple injuries. We believe the boy died at 2pm and we are still ascertaining the cause of death,' he said, adding that the body has been sent to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital for post-mortem.

Initial investigations indicate the boy may have been abused with a feather duster.

Police said the stepfather had been working as a factory operator in Singapore before he was retrenched recently.

The couple, who had been renting the apartment unit, do not have permanent resident status but had proper travelling documents.