On Monday (26 September), a Facebook user named Mohd Azreen Irman Ali took it online to share how her daughter almost become a kidnap victim in front of her school in broad daylight.
However, it turns out that the claim was fake and the 9-year-old victim acknowledged fabricating the incident before the parents filed a police report.
According to Perak police head Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri, he said the police have called up the victim and 5 witnesses involved in the report, including the student’s classmates, security guard, and school van driver.
“And we found that the report saying that the child was almost abducted is not true.”
“Maybe the victim was influenced after watching kidnapping videos from abroad through social media sites, in addition to wanting to find out what police will do in such an incident,” Yusri said.
Thus, Yusri urged the public to stop spreading fake news related to the incident so as not to cause fear or anxiety among the public.
“We also want to state that the allegation and speculation about the white van in this case, as has gone viral, is not true.”
“Police have confirmed that the sighting of the white van was a coincidence as it was a bus ferrying workers, so when this case was still a hot news item, it was misinterpreted as an attempted kidnapping,” he said.
Earlier, a Facebook post by the victim’s father went viral, claiming that the attempted kidnap took place in front of SK Pengkalan, Taman Pinji Mewah in Ipoh, Perak last Friday (23 September) but his daughter managed to escape.
The victim said while she and her peers were waiting outside the school gate, a white van with dark tinted glasses suddenly approach them and a Malay male came asking them if they want a ride. “I’ll give you candy,” the victim added.
She also said that after refusing the offer, the victim grabs her right arm and she started screaming and bite on the suspect’s hand which caused him to flee the scene.
The scream alerted the school security guard who rushed out from the compound, but the suspect and the van had already gone.
The girl’s parents were told of the incident by the girl herself when she got back from school.
Nonetheless, it is an offence to lodge a false police report. One can be charged under Section 182 of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum sentence of six months’ jail or a fine of RM2,000 or both upon conviction.
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