JOHOR BARU, July 23 — A 10-year-old boy, who was earlier reported missing while returning from school, was found unharmed at a shopping centre in Taman Johor Jaya here.
The Standard Four pupil of SJKC Foon Yew 5 was found safe by his mother and a police team during a search operation in the shopping centre at 4.30pm.
Johor Baru South district police chief Assistant Commissioner Raub Selamat said the boy was reported missing by his mother after he failed to return home after school in the afternoon.
“The boy’s mother filed a report as soon as her son had failed to return home after school hours at 12.30pm,” he said in a statement to the media on WhatsApp today.
The boy was last seen walking alone in his school uniform after missing his school bus in a still footage from a close circuit television (CCTV) camera.
He said, “A police team immediately conducted a search of the area near the school upon receiving the report.”
Raub added that after the boy was found, he told investigators that he had walked about three kilometres from his school to the shopping centre.
Earlier, the boy’s reported disappearance went viral as it coincided with the high-profile case of missing six-year-old girl Albertine Leo.
The incident made national headlines after she was said to be kidnapped at the Eco Galleria shopping mall in Iskandar Puteri during a Bon Odori event on Saturday night.
However, police managed to safely rescue Albertine at a location in Batang Kali, Selangor.
Albertine’s alleged kidnappers have since been arrested and are under remand pending investigations for her abduction.
