The police in Johor Bahru (JB) have arrested two men and a woman, aged between 28 and 55, in connection with the disappearance of 6-year-old missing girl Albertine Leo Jia Hui.
The case is now being investigated under Section 365 of the Penal Code for kidnapping, The Star reported.
The girl had vanished at around 8.45pm on Saturday (20 July) night at the Eco Galleria mall.
Johor police chief M. Kumar said on Monday (22 July) night that three people have been arrested.
“The Johor police contingent has confirmed the reclassification of the police report concerning the disappearance of a six-year-old girl in the Eco Galleria area of Taman Botani, Iskandar Puteri at around 7.15pm on 20 July,” he said in The Star’s report.
The three were arrested in the Iskandar Puteri and Gelang Patah areas at around 1.30pm on Monday to assist with the investigation, now classified as a kidnapping.
“The investigation is now being conducted 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.
However, the girl has not been found yet.
Her connection to the three suspects is still being investigated, police said.
Police have brought the three individuals to the Johor courts to apply for their remand.
Source: Sin Chew Daily
Mr Kumar said that police are urging anyone with information regarding the case to come forward to aid in the investigation.
He also reminded the public not to “speculate in ways that could interfere with the investigation”.
In response to media enquiries regarding a social media post alleging that the girl has been found, the police said it will hold a press conference at 11am today to discuss the case.
It did not confirm or deny the veracity of the post at press time.
Any information regarding the incident can be reported to the Johor Police Hotline at 019-2792095 or the Operations Room line at 07-2212999.
If convicted of kidnapping, one can be jailed for up to seven years and may be fined.
The 6-year-old was first reported missing after she disappeared on Saturday (July 21) evening during the Bon Odori Japanese festival at Eco Galleria in JB.
Her mother, 37-year-old Leo Qieo Xin, was selling drinks at a festival booth.
The girl is about 1.2m tall and was last seen wearing a pink Mickey Mouse shirt.
Source: 管我屁事 on Facebook
The case has received widespread attention, and parties both in Malaysia and Singapore have assisted in sharing notices of the missing girl.
Rewards for her return have risen to RM70,000 (S$20,120) as of the time of writing.
Also read: S$20,000 reward offered for return of 6-year-old M’sian girl still missing in JB
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Featured image adapted from 管我屁事 on Facebook and China Press.
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