A hardworking widow who sent her children to stay with their nanny was shocked to find them covered from head to toe in scars and open wounds.

M. Vikneswari reported the alleged abuse of her two kids, aged six and 11, to the police in the city of Johor Bahru, the capital of the Malaysian state of Johor in the south of the Malay Peninsula.

The 30-year-old woman had sent her children to live under the nanny’s care at her home in the suburb of Skudai in April.

She said she was paying the woman, name not reported, MYR 800 (GBP 141) per month to look after the youngsters.

It was only six months later, when the kids were put in a taxi by their nanny and sent to home, that the mum discovered the shocking abuse they had been subjected to.

Photos of the poor youngsters show them emaciated and covered from head to toe in scars and open wounds.

Their mum had not realised the abuse had been going on beforehand because she had only seen them on three occasions since leaving them in their nanny’s care.

She said she had seen her children on few occasions partly due to her work but also because of the nanny’s excuses.

She said the nanny had lately been preventing her from visiting her own kids, giving various excuses such as having to self-isolate due to coming into close contact with COVID-19 patients.

The restaurant assistant, whose husband passed away a few years ago, said that although she was worried about her children, the nanny had assured her they were in good health.

It is believed that the nanny sent the kids home after she realised their mum was planning to file a police report after she told her she would not be able to see her children for 48 days.

The abuse the youngsters allegedly suffered at the hands of the nanny and her husband included beatings with canes and pipes, being tied up with ropes, being splashed with boiling water, and burnings with cigarette butts.

The children were taken to hospital in Johor Bahru, where doctors treated their open wounds to prevent them from becoming infected with bacteria.

They have since been discharged and are back in their mother’s care, where they will remain.

The police reported that five people, the 24-year-old nanny, her 32-year-old husband and three family members, were arrested in connection with the alleged abuse.

The couple will remain in custody until 12th October as the investigation continues.