Compiled by C. ARUNO, JUNAID IBRAHIM and R. ARAVINTHAN
THE rising trend of missing children and teenagers is worrying, especially with the majority of them running away from home in search of “fun and freedom”, reported Utusan Malaysia.
The Malay daily reported that 80% out of 2,066 missing cases reported were not due to kidnapping. They left voluntarily.
The statistics also revealed that children aged 13 to 15 are the group with the largest number of missing people at 1,119 reported, followed by 16- to 18-year-olds (793), seven to 12 years old (109) and under six years old (105 ).
Bukit Aman Sexual, Women and Child Investigations Division (D11) principal assistant director Asst Comm Siti Kamsiah Hassan said, based on analysis, most went missing due to friends (422), followed by wanting to find freedom (413). The rest ran away with lovers (364).
She added that 290 cases of missing children were due to misunderstandings with the family while 48 cases were due to looking for work, followed by the lack of interest in studying (12) and lack of family attention (10).
“Although almost 90% of cases can be solved, parents and guardians shouldn’t take a careless attitude. (Those) aged 13 to 15 are still children and can be exploited by certain parties. They can be exposed to crime such as theft or drug abuse,” she said.
Aside from those who ran away voluntarily, there were also cases of children who were missing due to being taken away by legal guardians such as adoptive parents with 32 cases, and there were two cases of kidnapping by unknown individuals in the past three years (until last September).
> Singer Bella Astilah claimed her health problems were possibly caused by black magic, reported Harian Metro.
She said her family has sought treatment through the Islamic alternative method.
“I’ve never experienced it (black magic) before. I have started seeking treatment from an ustazah (religious teacher).
“It started when we were in Sabah. I suddenly fell sick and couldn’t go up to the stage to perform,” she added.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
