MS Unsolved: The 2 McDonald’s boys who ‘disappeared’ in Singapore
MS Unsolved is a series that hopes to raise awareness of cold cases in Singapore and generate new leads. If you have any information on the cases, reach out to MS News or the police.
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On 14 May 1986, two primary six students — Toh Hong Huat and Keh Chin Ann — from the now-defunct Owen Primary School vanished without a trace.
A police report was lodged in the evening after the boys failed to attend their lesson at 12:55 pm.
The case was later dubbed the “McDonald’s Boys Case” after the fast-food chain offered a substantial reward to aid investigations.
Despite exhaustive search efforts extending to neighbouring countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, no leads emerged.
Many theories surfaced regarding their disappearance, with one of the most widely discussed being that Toh’s estranged father may have abducted them and taken them to Johor Bahru (JB), Malaysia.
To this day, as of 2025, the boys remain missing and are declared legally dead.
Last sightings of the McDonald’s boys
On the day of his disappearance, Keh — 12 years old and the youngest of three siblings — arrived at school by bus for his afternoon class.
He left his school bag with Wang Pi Wei, one of his classmates, who had kindly offered to watch over it while he ran off to a nearby shop.
Thinking Keh would retrieve his bag later, Wang left both their school bags on a bench at the tuck shop before heading off to play.
Meanwhile, Toh, who typically relied on his mother’s company, unusually insisted on going to school alone that day — presumably to meet Keh.
His mother, Madam Tan Geok Guan, found this behaviour strange, as her son was timid and rarely went anywhere unaccompanied.
As the school bell rang and students filled the classroom, Wang noticed that Keh was still missing.
Concerned, he informed the teacher, who then realised that both Keh and Toh were absent.
Source: meWatch
Parents notified of their sons’ disappearance
Initially, the teacher assumed the boys were merely “playing truant” despite their usually impeccable attendance.
However, after failing to locate them, the teacher contacted their parents, who rushed to the school in growing distress.
As hours passed with no sign of the boys, the parents began searching frantically, combing through the school grounds and the surrounding housing estate before alerting the police.
Both families strongly believed their sons had not run away, as they were well-behaved children with no history of mischief.
Madam Tay Mee Na, Keh’s mother, described her son as a playful yet loving child who enjoyed sharing stories about his day.
Madam Tan described Toh as a mathematics whiz and a top scholar of his class.
He was also popular among his peers and was frequently seen with Keh.
Police on the lookout for both boys
Following the police report, detectives conducted thorough searches of housing estates near Owen Primary School — which was then located at the junction of Owen Road and Oxford Road.
They interviewed classmates, but no new information surfaced.
As desperation grew, the police expanded their search beyond Singapore, reaching into Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Yet, the boys remained untraceable.
McDonald’s offers S$100,000 reward for missing boys
Determined to find the boys, the parents distributed 50,000 posters and leaflets across Singapore, detailing their children’s hair colour, age, height, and last-seen attire.
Source: meWatch
18 days later, one of the families offered a S$1,000 reward for any information leading to their whereabouts.
About five months later, McDonald’s came up with a new campaign offering a S$100,000 reward, and the boys’ families later raised the sum of the reward to S$20,000.
Mr Robert Kwan, Managing Director of McDonald’s, also announced that the establishment would be putting up posters of the boys at all of its outlets across Singapore.
Source: meWatch
Mysterious phone calls to the families
In September 1986, four months after the boys disappeared, Keh’s father received a disturbing phone call.
Although he could not recall the exact words, the conversation left him shaken.
Tragically, Mr Keh suffered a stroke the very next day while on his way to a Chinese temple with Madam Tan.
Source: meWatch
Coincidentally, Madam Tan also received a chilling phone call from a man who ominously told her, “You should not hope for your son’s return.”
Over the following months, the families grew closer, seeking solace in each other and visiting at least 40 Chinese temples in search of answers.
New lead after 26 years
In November 2010, 26 years after the boys’ disappearance, an anonymous informant claimed he had seen the two boys playing with a girl in a garden opposite KK Hospital.
According to him, Toh was suddenly grabbed by a man while Keh followed behind.
However, the lack of concrete evidence led authorities to dismiss the claim.
Boys were allegedly kidnapped by Toh’s estranged father
Among the many theories that emerged, the most prominent suggested that Toh’s estranged father was behind the abduction.
Investigations revealed that Toh’s parents once co-owned a bus company but were forced to shut it down due to financial troubles.
Their failing marriage led to a divorce, and Madam Tan was awarded full custody of Toh.
As such, he would often turn up at Toh’s former school (West Hill Primary) to visit him.
Wary that her child may be forcefully taken, Madam Tan transferred Toh to three different schools and even moved out of her old address in Sembawang.
Private investigator Henry Tay theorised that Toh’s father kidnapped his son, with Keh unintentionally caught in the mix.
Some speculated that the boys were taken to JB, where they were forced into delinquency.
Authorities did arrest Toh’s father, but he was released due to insufficient evidence.
Another disturbing theory suggested that the boys had been trafficked to Thailand, where their limbs were mutilated to force them into begging.
However, no evidence supported this claim.
Source: Newspaper SG
Families’ ongoing grief
Losing a child is a tragedy beyond words. Over the years, the families grew closer, united by the common hope that their sons would one day return.
Source: meWatch
Toh’s mother recalled when she and her son would go to the market and Toh would have his usual hamburger on Sundays.
She said she “misses him a lot” whenever she came across her son’s belongings.
Toh’s mother often dreams of her son and believes that her son is “still alive.”
Meanwhile, Keh’s father often found himself wondering if his son was feeling cold whenever “it rains at night.”
He fondly remembered his son’s “mischievous streak”, particularly when he bickered with his sisters.
He added, “Till the day I die, I’ll hope that he’s alive”.
Mr Keh has since passed away, and his wife last spoke to reporters about her missing son in 2020.
Madam Tay, who was 80 years old at the time, was approached following renewed public interest in the murder of Felicia Teo — a case that was solved after 13 years.
However, she confessed that her memory was hazy, and she preferred not to talk about her son.
A neighbour of the Keh’s noted that Madam Tay would often return to their old Toa Payoh estate, waiting silently, hoping for her son’s return or any sliver of news.
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Featured image adapted from meWatch.
