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KULIM – An allegation that an 11-year-old schoolgirl was abducted by a man on a motorcycle from her school today has been found to be false, after police discovered that the story had been fabricated by her schoolmate, while the pupil was later found hiding inside the school toilet.
Kulim district police chief Superintendent Syamsul Sinring, said the pupil was previously believed to have left the school compound after a friend claimed to have seen her riding a motorcycle with a man.
However, he stated that initial police investigations revealed the claim was untrue after statement recordings showed the victim’s schoolmate confessed to inventing the story, believed to be out of dissatisfaction with the pupil.
“At around 8:20am whilst at the school, the complainant, who is the senior assistant of Student Affairs, received a report from two schoolgirls informing them that their friend had left the school compound with a man.
“The complainant then notified the pupil’s parents about the matter.
“It was informed that on the same day at around 7.20am, the pupil arrived at school as usual after being dropped off by her elder sister, before attending the school assembly at 8.00am,” he said.
Syamsul said that while the assembly was taking place, the pupil was said to have played with the hair bun of one of her two friends.
It is understood that the one friend then pulled the pupil’s headscarf, causing her inner scarf to fall off.
“After the assembly, the pupil went to the toilet to adjust her headscarf before hiding inside the toilet and skipping class.
“When the pupil was not in the classroom, another friend informed the complainant that the child had left the school compound with a man on a motorcycle,” he said.
Syamsul said that recordings of the statements revealed that the friend admitted to fabricating the story out of resentment towards the pupil.
“Investigations revealed that the pupil had not actually left the school compound, but was instead inside the school toilet.
“Information stating that she had left with a man is untrue,” he said.
Prior to this, the claim had spread widely, causing widespread chaos and concern among the public regarding the pupil’s disappearance.
Based on viral messages, members of the public had also conducted searches around a nearby oil palm plantation after it was claimed that the child had been taken to that location.
