A 15-year-old Chinese girl studying in Singapore was earlier abducted by a Chinese youth from the Woodlands Checkpoint in Singapore to Malaysia. Under close tracking by the Johor police, the girl was successfully rescued in Kuantan two days later!
The Johor police received a report yesterday from a 48-year-old Chinese man, stating that his 15-year-old daughter did not arrive at school in Singapore the day before (25th), confirming her disappearance.
According to preliminary investigations by the police, the girl was taken into Malaysia through the Woodlands Checkpoint in Singapore on Sunday (24th).
Johor's Chief Police Officer, Datuk M. Kuma, announced in a statement on the afternoon of the 27th that the Johor Criminal Investigation Department, based on intelligence, launched a raid in the Kuantan area of Pahang yesterday, successfully rescuing the girl and arresting a 22-year-old Chinese youth locally.
He said that the police also seized various items including mobile phones, clothing, and other items for further investigation, and the girl was subsequently taken to the hospital for examination.
M. Kuma stated that the police invoked multiple ordinances to investigate this case, including Section 14(a) of the 2017 Child Sexual Offences Act (Act 792), which pertains to physical sexual assault on children, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and possible caning, and Section 48(2) of the 2001 Child Act (Act 611), which pertains to the illegal concealment of children, punishable by a fine not exceeding 10,000 ringgit, or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both.
Furthermore, he said, the police invoked Section 361 of the Penal Code (Act 574), which pertains to kidnapping children from lawful guardianship, punishable by up to 7 years in prison and a possible fine.
M. Kuma noted that the judge granted the police a 7-day extension to detain the male suspect for further investigation until December 2nd. He reminded the public not to speculate or make comments that could affect the investigation process. He also encouraged the public to provide any information on criminal activities through the nearest police station.
