As investigators try to piece together the last four hours of the local Bajau woman before she was found in the drain at about noon on Thursday, doctors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital have stabilised her though she remains semi-conscious.
It is learned that the woman, who has an eight-month-old baby, had been sexually assaulted and suffered head and facial injuries.
Investigators are hoping to interview her to get more details about events leading to her attack.
Sabah deputy police commissioner Datuk Awang Sahari EM Nadzeer said the woman's male friend is assisting in the investigations.
The suspect, in his 20s, was arrested at about 10.30am Friday in the area where the woman was found along Jalan Bundusan in Penampang.
“We hope to make more arrests.
“We believe that the victim was raped as there were signs of forced penetration,” Awang Sahari said.
It is learned that the woman, a photocopy shop worker in Jalan Bundusan, would usually bring her baby to work but had left the child with her male friend at about 8am on Thursday in order to do other tasks.
The victim is said to have married a man under traditional customs at their home village but he left her before the baby’s birth.
Police are investigating the case for grievous assault and also rape.
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Cops nab man suspected of raping and dumping woman in Penampang drain
KOTA KINABALU, July 10 — Police arrested today a local man in his 20s in connection to the case of a woman who was found half-naked and bruised but alive in a drain near here.
The man is believed to be an acquaintance of the unidentified woman, who is also in her 20s, Sabah deputy police commissioner Datuk Awang Sahari Nadzeer told reporters.
“The suspect was picked up at around 10.30am at a bus stop near the area where the victim was found semi-conscious with bruises on her face and body,” he said.
Police are investigating the case under Section 376 and 326 of the Penal Code for rape and voluntarily causing grievous harm.
The woman was found clad only in her bra in the water-filled drain near a seafood restaurant in Penampang.
She is currently under observation at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital here after undergoing an operation earlier to remove blood clots on her face and body.
“According to the doctors, there was also some injuries to her private parts, which leads us to believe she was raped,” Awang said, adding that the police was not discounting the possibility of more than one attacker.
“The victim is still in a state of trauma and recovery, which may lengthen investigations,” he added.
The woman was first spotted in the drain about noon by a pedestrian who was heading towards the bus stop in front of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bahang and thought to be dead.
Police arrived at the scene and extracted her before rushing her to the hospital for medical attention.
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