A police source said the initial medical report also showed injuries to her private parts. — Picture by Shahir Omar

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 — It was a horrendous discovery — a sexually-assaulted, starving little girl tortured by unknown barbarians with pliers, spanners and screwdrivers wandering the streets alone at 3.30am crying to be fed.

The extreme case of inhumane treatment inflicted on the four-year-old is a story one wishes could be unread as the parents are the key suspects. A photograph of the girl, released by city police to seek public help to track down her parents showed:

Several nasty scars on her nose, forehead and lips;

Old scars all over her body which a medical report suggested had been caused by abuse over at least six months.

A police source said the initial medical report also showed injuries to her private parts.

City police chief Datuk Mohmad Salleh, in confirming the case, said they are looking for the parents fo the girl — who is now being cared for at Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

The Malay Mail has learnt that the girl could have been living on the streets for a few days.

A police source said the girl was found wandering aimlessly along Jalan Air Jerneh in Setapak on Oct 9 before being rescued by a 41-year-old passer-by. Police said the passer-by — who was on his way home from work — told the police she cried and asked for food when he approached her.

The source said: “The man told us she looked frightened, pale and weak and kept crying and asking for food.

“He fed the girl before handing her over to the police.

“We believe she was not dumped on the streets by her parents, but instead ran away from home as she couldn’t stand being abused.”