Six-year-old in safe condition after rescue in Batang Kali, five suspects in custody
JOHOR BARU: Police have rescued six-year-old Albertine Leo Jia Hui in Selangor, some 370km away from where she was first taken from her parents. Johor police chief Comm M. Kumar said the girl was found in a room at a budget hotel in Batang Kali at 4.45am yesterday.
“The victim was reported missing by her father on Saturday at the Eco Galleria business centre in Iskandar Puteri. Police immediately conducted a search and rescue operation ... to find the missing child,” he said during a press conference at the Johor police headquarters.
Public information led the police to arrest four suspects, including two women, around Iskandar Puteri and Johor Baru. Their arrests then helped authorities to locate the missing child.
“With assistance from Bukit Aman, we raided a room at a budget hotel in Batang Kali where we found the victim together with a 31-year-old male suspect,” Comm Kumar said.
He added that the child was found in safe condition, and initial checks found no physical injuries or changes to her appearance.
Albertine was then sent to hospital for a medical check-up.
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Meanwhile, the male suspect is now under remand for seven days to further assist with the investigation.
He arrived at the Johor Baru Court Complex in an unmarked police vehicle at around 3pm yesterday.
He was seen wearing a T-shirt with the “Bon Odori Johor” festival logo printed on it.
Albertine was believed to have been abducted at the festival on Saturday in Iskandar Puteri.
Magistrate Muhammad Fitri Mokhtar granted remand against the fifth suspect for seven days until July 29.
Earlier, the other four suspects, aged between 28 and 55, were brought to the same court for the remand process.
Police arrested them here on Monday to assist with the investigation.
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“All five suspects have no family ties with the victim or her parents. We are still investigating the motive behind the kidnapping and whether they have ties with certain syndicates.
“The victim’s family did not receive any ransom demand from the suspects,” said Comm Kumar, adding that police also seized a car used by the suspects to bring the child from Johor to Selangor.
Comm Kumar confirmed that police were checking whether the five suspects had any prior criminal records and urged the public not to speculate on the matter.
“During the girl’s abduction, her family received many phone calls providing mostly incorrect information. The police had to investigate (each one) to verify their authenticity.
“We advise the public to not make speculations that could interfere with the investigation. Strict action without compromise will be taken against anyone who spreads false information,” he added.
Comm Kumar said the case was investigated under Section 365 of the Penal Code, which pertains to kidnapping or abducting someone with the intent to secretly and wrongfully confine them.
He added that the case was also investigated under Section 14(a) of Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which is physical contact with a child without consent.
Albertine was reported missing at around 8.30pm on Saturday during the Bon Odori Johor festival at Eco Galleria here.
