MIRI, MALAYSIA: A three-year old girl was brutally raped by a drunken youth at a rural longhouse settlement in Bekenu sub-district some 80kms south of here following a prolonged Gawai drinking spree.

The toddler, who suffered massive bleeding, has been rushed to Miri Hospital.

The youth, said to be 16 years old, was caught by villagers and handed over to the police.

The incident happened late on the first day of Gawai Dayak on June 1 at a longhouse farm not far from the Bekenu bazaar.

Sources said the police have classified the case as rape.

"I can only confirm we have arrested a suspect. This case involves minors. We cannot reveal too much," said Miri Police deputy chief Supt Ismail Paduka Idris Tuesday.

"But we view this case very seriously," he said.

According to sources, the attack came to light late on Monday evening at the longhouse when villagers saw the toddler crying and bleeding profusely.

They found her groaning in pain in an isolated hut not far from the longhouse after hearing her cries.

They immediately brought her back to their longhouse and the girl related to the mother that a man from the longhouse had led her to the hut and had taken off her panties and "did something to her".

"The villagers made a citizens' arrest after the toddler pointed out the suspect to the residents. The suspect was loitering near the longhouse in a state of intoxication when he was detained. He did not put up a fight," said a police source.

Villagers told the police the suspect was working in the farm near the longhouse. The farm belonged to the victim's grandfather.

They said the suspect was among those who had been indulging in a drinking spree in conjunction with the harvest festival.

The suspect was brought to the Miri Central Police Station Tuesday and is expected to be produced in court soon.

The Star/Asia News Network