Six-year-old girl found safe after abduction during Johor Bahru festival

MALAYSIA: Albertine Leo Jia Hui, a six-year-old girl who went missing during a Bon Odori event in Johor Bahru, was found safe at a hotel in Batang Kali on Tuesday (23 July).

The child is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital.

The disappearance happened on Saturday (20 July) after the Bon Odori event at the Eco Galleria mall in Johor’s Iskandar Puteri.

Albertine, approximately 120cm tall with long hair, was last seen wearing a white Mickey Mouse T-shirt.

She was reportedly separated from her family around 8:30 pm, according to her father.

The Bon Odori festival, a summer event originating from Japan, is held in parts of Malaysia to promote and strengthen ties between the two countries.

Shortly after Albertine went missing, photos of her taken at the event began circulating on social media, according to local publications.

Johor police chief Comm M. Kumar announced in a press conference that a police team raided a room at a budget hotel in Selangor at around 4:30 am on 23 July.

“We found the missing child in the hotel room,” said Comm Kumar.

“The team also arrested a 31-year-old man who was with the victim.”

In addition to the arrest at the hotel, two men and two women in their 40s were detained in Iskandar Puteri to assist with the investigation.

Their arrest led the police to the fifth suspect and the victim.

Comm Kumar clarified that all five suspects, who are locals, have no ties to the victim or her family.

The case has been reclassified as kidnapping under Section 365 of the Penal Code, which covers abduction with the intent to secretly and wrongfully confine a person.

The investigation is also being conducted under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, as Albertine was found alone with the suspect.

“We are still trying to determine the motive as no ransom demand was made by the suspects,” added Comm Kumar.

Four of the suspects were brought to the Johor Bahru Court Complex on Tuesday morning for the remand process.