KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 — Bukit Aman is now investigating the mysterious disappearance of government lawyer Anthony Kevin Morais as an abduction case, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed today.

The case was initially filed as a missing person’s report by the deputy public prosecutor’s elder brother on Saturday, a day after he had disappeared after leaving his home in Segambut here for his office at the Attorney-General’s Chambers in Putrajaya.

“It is no more a case of a missing person. We have leads to believe that he was abducted,” Khalid was quoted by news portal The Malaysian Insider as telling reporters in Penang.

The case is now being probed under Section 365 of the Penal Code, which states that the kidnapping or abduction of a person with intent to cause the person’s secret and wrongful confinement is liable to a maximum seven-year jail term and a fine.

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In a separate report by The Star Online, Kuala Lumpur police’s Criminal Investigation Department chief Datuk Zainuddin Ahmad said close-circuit (CCTV) recordings of major roads from the capital city to Perak’s Hutan Melintang area indicate that Morais was abducted.

“That is the latest lead that we got. We will give more details once new leads emerge,” he was quoted saying.

Zainuddin, who heads a special taskforce probing the government lawyer’s disappearance, said the rumours of the alleged discovery of Morais’ body in Klang was untrue.

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The police are still probing a burnt car that was found on Sunday morning at an oil palm plantation in Hutan Melintang for links to Morais case.

The burnt car was said to resemble the make of the government-issued grey Proton Perdana car which Morais was last seen in when leaving his condominium on Friday morning.

Yesterday, Deputy Inspector-General of police Datuk Seri Noor Rashid Ibrahim said police are looking into all angles in their search for Morais, including suggestions that it is linked to the 2013 murder of Ambank founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi.

Another news portal Malaysiakini reported today Khalid as saying that one of Morais’ brothers had acted as a witness in Najadi’s case and confirming that the police is now probing it for possible links to the suspected abduction case.

“But if they were any links, we would have known,” Khalid was quoted saying.

Morais, 55, was seconded to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission nearly 10 years ago to aid its prosecution division, but returned to the Attorney-General’s Chambers in July as deputy head of its appellate and trial division.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali has denied Morais was involved in any government probe on controversial state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad.