The boy was admitted to hospital on Feb. 19 with serious burn wounds and passed away later that same day in Sukabumi City, West Java Province, Indonesia, AsiaOne reported.

Local media said he had multiple injuries suspected to be caused by beatings, in addition to burn wounds. His esophagus was severely damaged after being scalded with boiling water.

A video filmed at the hospital showed that when asked who inflicted the injuries, Nizam appeared to point toward his stepmother and say “mother” before his death.

The father said he had previously filed a police report accusing his wife of abusing Nizam. The case was mediated after she promised to change, and the complaint was not withdrawn.

He added that his son was beaten during a fight with his stepmother’s two adopted children, and that only Nizam was punished while the other two were not harmed.

On the night before Nizam died, the father was working in Sukabumi. He returned home after his wife called to say the child had a high fever and found his son covered in blisters and burns, although the boy had been in normal health that morning.

The father said his wife told him the blisters were a reaction that occurred whenever the child had a fever. The boy was taken to Jampangkulon General Hospital on the morning of Feb. 19 and later died at around 4 p.m.

The stepmother later denied the abuse allegations in an interview with Detikcom.

She said the victim’s injuries were not caused by violence and that he had a history of illness, adding that “the blisters were caused by internal heat,” CNN Indonesia reported.

Sukabumi Police chief Samian said investigations are ongoing and that the police have questioned 16 witnesses.