PETALING JAYA (ANN/THE STAR) – Six-year-old Albertine Leo Jia Hui, who went missing during a Bon Odori event in Johor Baru, was found safe at a hotel in Batang Kali on Tuesday.
Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan confirmed her safe recovery. Albertine was reported missing around 8.30 pm on Saturday (July 21) during the Japanese festival celebration at Eco Galleria. The case was reclassified as a kidnapping.
At a separate press conference in Johor Baru, Johor police chief Comm M. Kumar said a police team raided a room at the budget hotel in Selangor at around 4.30 am. “We found the missing child in the hotel room and arrested a 31-year-old man who was with her,” he said.
Comm Kumar added that Albertine’s parents have been informed about her rescue, and she is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital.
“Initially, we arrested four suspects, including two women, around Iskandar Puteri and Johor Baru. Their arrest then led us to the fifth suspect and the victim,” he said, noting that all five suspects have no ties to the victim and her family. Comm Kumar stated that police are investigating the case under Section 365 of the Penal Code for kidnapping and Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
“We are still trying to determine the motive as no ransom demand was made by the suspects,” he added.
Three of the suspects were brought to the Johor Baru Court Complex on Tuesday morning for the remand process.
