KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A three-year-old girl and her seven-month-old brother were found dead and stuffed into plastic containers on Monday (Sept 26). Their father was also found dead at their apartment in Taman Sri Sinar, Segambut.

The mother of the two children, who is estranged from her husband, has been arrested in what appears to be a bizarre murder case.

Cheah Kai Sze and her younger brother Cheah Kai Wen were found stuffed into separate plastic containers, which were then wrapped in large plastic bags in a room at the Nova 2 apartment.

Their father, 34-year-old Cheah Hing Soon, was found sprawled in the master bedroom.

City police chief Commissioner Datuk Amar Singh said police had found lapses in the 35-year-old woman's story.

"Based on the condition of the bodies, we believe they have been dead for more than 48 hours," Commissioner Singh said, adding that there were no signs of a break-in although the home was found to be in a mess.

Sentul OCPD Assistant Commissioner R. Munusamy, who was at the scene, said police also did not find any visible injuries on the victims.

He said police received a report from the wife at about 12.15pm on Monday.

"When police arrived, there was a strong odour of joss sticks," ACP Munusamy said.

"Perhaps it was from a Taoist priest whom she had called to perform some prayers before we arrived," he said, adding that it was strange that the woman called her father-in-law and the priest before contacting the police.

According to the woman, she was separated from her husband but went to the unit every day as she lived in a different block of the same apartment building.

"She also claimed she had stayed over at the apartment the night before," ACP Munusamy said.

He added that the couple had two other sons, aged six and eight, who lived nearby with her father-in-law.

The woman said both she and her husband were unemployed.

A neighbour said the children were not around when he last saw the couple on Saturday afternoon.

He claimed that he had not seen the two children for a while. When he asked their mother about their whereabouts, she told him that they were staying with their maternal grandmother.

The neighbour said Hing Soon's father paid the rent for the couple's apartment unit.

He also claimed that both husband and wife would ask for money from neighbours, ranging from RM20 (S$6.60) to RM30.

Commissioner Amar Singh said the remains of the three victims were sent to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for a post-mortem.

The case has been classified as murder.