M'sian girl, 15, believed dead after missing for 10 days; boyfriend, 16, allegedly dumped her body with family's help

A decomposed body, believed to be that of 15-year-old Yap Xin Yuan, was found in a river in Banting, Selangor, on Dec. 28, 2024.

Yap had been missing for 10 days prior to the discovery of her body.

According to Malaysian media China Press and Sin Chew Daily, Yap's 16-year-old boyfriend has been arrested for assisting with murder investigations.

Both papers reported that the boyfriend confessed to dumping her body into the river with the help of his family.

The two teens became a couple about two months after they met at the lion dance centre, according to media reports.

Missing for 10 days

Yap was reported missing by her family on Dec. 19, 2024.

According to Sin Chew Daily, Yap initially told her family that she was going for a lion dance practice and had her father drive her to the lion dance centre on Dec. 19 morning.

Yap did not return home that night, which prompted her family to go to the lion dance centre to find her. However, the centre was closed because the person-in-charge was overseas.

That's when they sensed something was wrong.

Yap was not contactable and her handphone was switched off after midnight.

Her family also tried to contact the boyfriend through Instagram, but he didn't reply.

Her family then decided to seek help on social media in addition to making a police report.

Boyfriend initially denied responsibility

A few days later, Yap's boyfriend went to the police but claimed that he had nothing to do with Yap's disappearance.

According to China Press, he said that Yap had taken a private hire vehicle to his house on Dec. 19 morning, but they quarrelled after having a meal together.

He claimed that Yap left his house in a private hire vehicle afterwards.

While the boyfriend told Yap's family the same story, they became suspicious of him after discovering discrepancies between his account and evidence gathered from other sources.

The private hire company revealed that Yap took one ride that day and nearby CCTV showed Yap arrived at her boyfriend's place at a different timing than what he had claimed.

However, an investigating officer apparently said they couldn't find any evidence on the boyfriend then, Sin Chew Daily reported.

A body found

Malaysian police discovered a body on Dec. 28 at a Banting river after receiving a tip-off.

A preliminary autopsy determined that the features of the body were similar to that of Yap, including her height, braces and the clothing and accessories she was wearing at the time she was missing.

As the body was highly decomposed, the person's identity could not be confirmed without a DNA test. The results were expected in the first week of January 2025.

Her cause of death had yet to be determined.

The discovery of the body escalated Yap's missing case to a murder investigation. Along Yap's 16-year-old boyfriend, his 20-year-old brother and his 51-year-old father were also arrested on Dec. 29.

Boyfriend confessed to dumping body: media

Further media reports on Dec. 31 said that the boyfriend confessed to dumping Yap's body into the river during questioning.

Both China Press and Sin Chew Daily reported that sources revealed that the boyfriend claimed they had drunk beverages laced with drugs together, but Yap ended up dying.

He claimed that he panicked and asked his family for help, which led to the decision to dump her body in the river at Sungei Changgang.

Investigations are ongoing.

Family awaiting DNA results

Yap's family initially refused to accept that the body belonged to their daughter, according to Sin Chew Daily.

A relative had told reporters that the mother still hoped that she was alive, as the DNA test results were not out yet.

However, Shin Chew Daily reported on Jan. 1, 2025, that Yap's father said while sobbing that he had accepted the loss of his daughter and would be waiting to retrieve her body from the hospital.

Top images via China Press