PETALING JAYA: A four-year-old child was rescued by authorities after the child was discovered living in a rubbish-infested house by the Anti-Drug National Agency (AADK) during an outreach programme in Kelantan recently.

A spokesman from AADK said that the agency came across the “seemingly abandoned” house during the community outreach and the agency’s officers became “curious” after they heard the cries of a child, according to Harian Metro.

The house, reportedly unlocked, was found littered with rubbish at every corner of the house. The AADK officers inspected the house and discovered the little boy amongst the heaps of rubbish.

“The child was in a dishevelled and neglected state. A woman and her 18-year-old son also resided in the house,” the spokesman said.

ALSO READ: Child Act 2001 amendments being finalised for tabling this year - Nancy Shukri

Seeing the squalid conditions the child was living in, the agency immediately contacted the Social Welfare Department (JKM) to help the family and rescue the child.

The spokesman confirmed that JKM took the child out of the residence straight away to be given treatment and all-rounded care.

Inspections found that the four-year-old’s older brother tested positive for drugs while his mother suffered from depression due to a prior divorce.

The older brother was put in a Community Treatment and Rehabilitation Programme by AADK who also tried to offer other forms of assistance in the youth’s road to recovery.

Furthermore, both government bodies worked together in community service by cleaning out the residence so that it is safe for the family to reside in, the spokesman added.

ALSO READ: Mother changes plea over lacing son’s milk with meth