A 20-year-old Singaporean woman who went missing in Cambodia has been found safe by the Cambodian police, said the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in response to queries from MS News.
The relatives of Siti Aishah Siregar Binte Sahat Siregar sounded the alarm after she had not been seen since Tuesday (28 July), when she travelled to Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
Source: Khmer Times
SPF has reached out to their counterparts in the Cambodian National Police to obtain more information.
They also offered to render further assistance as appropriate.
Consular support is being provided to her family by Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Singapore Embassy in Phnom Penh, SPF noted, adding:
The police express appreciation to the Cambodian authorities for their prompt assistance.
According to investigations by the Secretariat of Cambodia’s Commission for Combating Online Scams (CCOS), Ms Siti Aishah arrived in Cambodia on Tuesday, reported the Khmer Times.
At the airport, she met with a Cambodian university student whom she had known through online gaming.
She had informed him of her plans several days earlier.
He then drove her to a condominium in Phnom Penh, which she had independently arranged for her accommodation.
Source: Khmer Times
He also helped her to purchase household items and accompanied her to local attractions.
Ms Siti Aishah later told the authorities that she had left Singapore without telling her parents because they would not have allowed her to go as they exercised very strict control over her.
She said she had left a letter explaining her decision before leaving.
She also told them that she had not been detained, abused, threatened, nor forced to do anything since arriving in Cambodia.
Based on interviews with the woman and other parties, as well as findings from the local police, CCOS ruled out human trafficking or online scam involvement in the case.
CCOS concluded that no deception or coercion was involved, saying:
The woman left home because she was unhappy with and under pressure from her parents’ excessive restrictions.
Her trip to Cambodia was voluntarily undertaken to seek employment, CCOS added.
According to social media posts by netizens who identified themselves as her father and aunt, Ms Siti Aishah lost contact with them on Tuesday.
Her older brother Syafiq told Channel NewsAsia (CNA) that her last message was to her mother on Tuesday morning, saying she was going to school.
But the family later discovered her WhatsApp and Telegram accounts had been deleted and her phone line was disconnected.
They later found her passport gone and made a police report.
Source: Sahat Siregar on Facebook
When the family checked her emails, they discovered a flight itinerary to Cambodia and money transfers to an unknown person.
The person was an online friend that Siti Aishah had been gaming with for more than a year.
The police later confirmed that she had left Singapore on Tuesday.
Also read: S’pore woman allegedly missing in Cambodia, police report made
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Featured image adapted from Khmer Times.