SEMENYIH, Feb 12 — Investigation procedures into missing persons reports and the procedure for triggering a national alert called Nur Alert upon a child’s disappearance will be reviewed by the police, Deputy Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim said today.
He was responding to reports that the Nur Alert was not triggered by Pahang police after 11-year-old Siti Masitah Ibrahim was reported missing on January 30 because she was an undocumented foreigner.
“In the force we always remind that investigations towards a missing person, regardless young or old, is always treated the same as we do for murder cases, meaning we pay very close attention.
“So after this, I will review the procedure concerning missing persons and make sure that reports of such incidents are not taken lightly,” he said during Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s visit to the General Operations Forces (PGA) Camp here today.
Siti’s mutilated body was found in an oil palm plantation in Pekan, Pahang, 10 days after she was reported missing on January 30.
Pekan district police chief Superintendent Amran Sidek had been quoted saying the alert was not triggered because the victim, who is of Cambodian ethnicity, was an undocumented foreigner, like her parents.
Noor Rashid then clarified the Nur Alert was for children under the age of 12, regardless of their nationality.
“Whoever is missing in this country, the police and all agencies involved should have issued a Nur Alert,” he said.
Siti’s body was found by villagers only on February 9, with her head detached and several internal organs missing.
Post mortem results showed injuries to her head, left jaw, and skull, all believed to have been on the receiving end of a strike from a piece of wood.
Pahang CID Chief Datuk Othman Nanyan had said a 23-year-old Cambodian man was arrested a day after Siti was reported missing, with revenge believed to be the main motive.
