July 22, 2024, 04:57 PM
A six-year-old girl is missing after allegedly becoming separated from her family at a mall in Johor Bahru on July 20, 2024.
The girl is approximately 120cm tall with long hair and was last seen wearing a white Mickey Mouse T-shirt, reported The Star.
Her parents were booth operators at the Eco Galleria shopping mall's Bon Odori event (a Japanese summer festival).
She was said to be playing near their stall before her father noticed she had gone missing at about 8:30pm.
Iskandar Puteri district police chief Assistant Commissioner (ACP) M. Kumarasan said in a statement that police are actively investigating and urged the public not to speculate about the circumstances of the girl's disappearance, Bernama reported.
Mother asks public not to spread false information
Following the news of her disappearance, photos of the girl allegedly taken at the event have made the rounds online.
Johor’s Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi also appealed to the public via Facebook to report any information on her whereabouts to the police.
The girl's mother implored the public to refrain from spreading false information that could hinder the search efforts.
She was quoted in The Star saying:
“Too much information and so-called sightings are being posted on social media.
This will affect the police search for my daughter. So please stop spreading false information."
Those with information are asked to contact the nearest police station or the Iskandar Puteri district police headquarters Crime Investigation Department Officer, Inspector Ridzuan Abd Hadi, at 017-7051097, the Iskandar Puteri district police hotline at 019-2792095, or the operations room at 07-2212999, according to Kumarasan.
35 children still missing since 2010
According to the Malaysian police website on missing persons, there have been a total of 35 children still missing in Malaysia since 2010, with the youngest being one year old.
Photo via Guanghua Daily
In 2024, 12 teenagers and 30 children went missing, and many are still being sought by their families, reported Guanghua Daily.
Top photo from Bernama
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