11-year-old Roslan bin Norman disappeared while running an errand
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In 1972, 11-year-old Roslan bin Norman left his home on Engku Aman Road to deliver laundry to a nearby shop, only to disappear, never returning again.
Despite a frantic search, Roslan was never found, and his case remains one of Singapore’s most mysterious disappearances.
Years later, several people claimed to have seen someone matching his description in various locations, some even as far away as Bombay, India.
Each time, the family pursued these leads, only to hit dead ends, never gaining closure.
To this day, the case continues to intrigue and spark speculation among crime enthusiasts. Here’s what we know about the ongoing mystery.
His family did not believe he had run away
Source: meWatch
According to a reenactment by MediaCorp, which claims to “maintain the accuracy of all the events”. Roslan was the second of four children in a traditional Malay family living on Engku Aman Road.
On 8 January 1972, at around 7pm, Roslan left home with a pack of dirty clothes to deliver to a laundry shop, just a few metres away. This was the last time his family saw him.
As the night went on without his return, his worried parents went to the laundry shop, only to be told by the owner that Roslan had never shown up.
The following day, with still no word of his whereabouts, they filed a police report, and Roslan was officially declared missing.
His family was convinced that Roslan had not run away. His father was quoted by The Straits Times in 1972, stating that the boy had not taken any clothing or money with him.
According to a 1973 article by Berita Harian, the Normans spent more than S$2,000 in their search for their missing son. A reward of S500 was also offered to anyone who could provide any information leading to his whereabouts.
Just a few days later, the first major clue in the case would emerge.
A witness claimed to have seen Roslan getting into a stranger’s car
Source: Berita Harian via National Library Board
According to Mediacorp’s reenactment, a boy from the neighbourhood came forward, claiming he had seen Roslan talking to a stranger in a car on the night of his disappearance.
The stranger allegedly took Roslan into the car and drove away.
However, when the police investigated this lead, they were unable to find anybody else who could confirm the sighting, aside from the witness and possibly his grandfather, who may have seen the mysterious car and its driver.
Despite the lack of further evidence, the claim sparked fear in the Normans, who began to suspect their son may have been kidnapped.
This fear was only amplified by another troubling development.
A prisoner claimed to know Roslan’s whereabouts
Source: The Straits Times via National Library Board
After Roslan’s disappearance, his parents began receiving letters from a prisoner at Changi Prison, claiming to know his whereabouts, according to a 1981 report by The Straits Times.
Between 1973 and 1975, Roslan’s parents met with the man, who had been imprisoned for an armed offence. He informed them that Roslan was safe and under the care of one of his friends.
In December 1974, at the Normans’ persistent questioning, the prisoner finally provided a contact: a Malaysian named Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, who was residing at Jalan Sawl, now part of the Eunos Crescent estate.
“At first Jamaluddin was reluctant to reveal anything but when I pleaded and promised him a reward, he told me that my son was staying with a thug in Jalan Kachang,” Mrs Norman said in the article.
She added: “But he warned me against going there as he feared for my safety.”
After this interaction, the Normans lost contact with Jamaluddin. In 1975, they received the shocking news that he had died.
He was wanted by both Singapore and Malaysian authorities and reportedly shot himself when cornered by police in Johor Bahru.
It seemed as though the Normans’ chance of finding Roslan had ended with Jamaluddin’s death. However, their hope would later be reignited years after.
Roslan might have been seen begging in Bombay
Source: Berita Harian via National Library Board
The same Straits Times article in 1981 also reported that a woman named Mdm Mansaat came forward, claiming she had encountered a beggar in Bombay in 1979 whom she believed could be Roslan.
Mdm Mansaat recounted meeting the young man, who introduced himself as ‘Lan’, and offering him a meal.
During their conversation, Lan explained that he had travelled between countries with a friend, but his friend had died a year earlier from a fever, as reported by Berita Harian in 1981.
The Strait Times’ article also mentioned that two Singapore Airlines employees claimed to have met and talked to the same young man in 1979, reinforcing the possibility that he could be Roslan.
The sightings led Singapore police to reopen Roslan’s case. Mr Haji Yaacob, Singapore’s High Commissioner to India, speculated that a syndicate might be involved, potentially kidnapping children for purposes such as slavery and prostitution, according to a Berita Harian article.
The same article also quoted an Indian official stating that his side was “ready to help” at the request of Singaporean authorities.
Source: meWatch
Mediacorp’s reenactment also depicted Roslan’s mother, bolstered by the reports, travelling to Bombay in 1981 to search for her son.
It wasn’t until her sixth and final day in the city that she spotted a young man who might have been Roslan among a group of beggars. However, she lost him in the crowd and was never able to locate him again.
“I felt that if that boy was Roslan, I regret not having gone up to him,” the reenactment quoted Roslan’s mother.
The case of Roslan bin Norman remains a mystery
Despite the hopeful signs, no breakthrough materialised, and the mysterious beggar was never seen again, halting any further attempts to identify him.
Was the man truly Roslan bin Norman? If so, how did he end up in Bombay? And why did he not approach his mother when she found him?
Unless more information turns up in the future, one can only speculate as to what really transpired.
Also read: The mysterious case of Lawrence Leow, who disappeared on the way home from the carpark
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Featured image adapted from meWatch.
