KUCHING, March 15 — The parents of Eric Chang Wei Jie arrived at the Muara Tebas Wharf accompanied by three other relatives today to perform prayers for the missing four-year-old.
The couple arrived at the wharf via a police car around 4.45pm accompanied by some policemen, while the three relatives arrived in a separate car.
Eric’s father was seen carrying a plastic bag of oranges and his mother, identified as Dynasty Chang, was carrying a piece of orange coloured paper for the prayer.
They left the site at around 5.05pm in the same police car, while their relatives left in a separate car.
Yesterday, Eric’s parents had twice attempted to enter the Muara Tebas Wharf, where the child’s body was believed to have been dumped, with another relative at noon but were turned away by the police.
They were only allowed to enter on the third attempt at around 3.45pm.
Eric’s mother, who is said to be seven months pregnant, wailed uncontrollably and cried out for her son, who was missing since March 7, 2022, as her husband tried to console her.
She almost fainted as she was led away from the wharf, and had to be helped to the search operation centre nearby.
The operation, which involves the police, the Fire and Rescue Department and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, is covering the area from the wharf to Tanjong Po, between three to five nautical miles from the wharf today.
The operation started at 2pm as the weather this morning was not permissible.
Eric’s caretaker and her husband have been further remanded to assist in the investigation, while his parents were released on police bail on Monday.
Kuching police chief ACP Ashmon Bajah said in a statement on Sunday that the case has been reclassified under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, adding that the caretaker and her husband would be remanded further to assist in the investigations.
Eric was reported missing by his mother on March 7 at the Bintawa police station at 7.42pm after he was missing since 9am on that day. — Borneo Post
