4,471 Children Were Reported Missing From 2017 To 1 Sept This Year
Of more than 10,000 cases of missing persons reported in the last five years, close to half were children below 18, the Dewan Rakyat was told today, 11 October.
By May Vin Ang — 11 Oct 2021, 06:20 PM
A total of 4,471 children were reported missing from 2017 to 1 September this year, the Dewan Rakyat was told today, 11 October
According to theSundaily, Deputy Home Minister I Datuk Seri Ismail Mohamed Said said this number is out of more than 10,000 cases of missing persons in the same period.
He said based on police statistics, 4,399 kids were found of the total, while the remaining 72 are still missing.
The minister was replying Senator Datuk Koh Nai Kwong, who asked for statistics on missing persons reported in the last five years
Koh also wanted to know steps taken by the government to address the matter.
To tackle the issue, Ismail said police have collaborated with 40 other agencies under Nur Alert, an early warning system for cases of missing children.
"The force collaborates with various parties to organise awareness programmes as well, to prevent such cases from recurring," he said, as quoted by The Vibes.
He added that, according to police investigations, among the reasons that children or teenagers go missing include family problems, seeking more freedom to be with friends or romantic partners, depression, mental health issues, and involvement in crime.
Besides that, he said the government has also set up a missing children portal to tackle the matter
Vital information to find a missing person such as their name, age, date they went missing, location last seen, physical attributes, and a photo can be found on the PDRM Missing Children Portal.
"The portal provides an opportunity for the community to work together to track down missing children more quickly and effectively by channelling the latest information," said Ismail.
He added that the portal has proved its effectiveness as many missing persons were found after their information was displayed on the Internet.
He encouraged the public to keep helping the police trace and ensure the number of missing persons in the country can be reduced.
