KUALA LUMPUR: Six-year-old Albertine Leo Jia Huin (pic), who was reported missing in Iskandar Puteri, Johor on Saturday, has been found safe.
In a live-streamed press conference, Johor police chief M. Kumar said the girl was found at a budget hotel in Batang Kali, Selangor early yesterday morning.
Police arrested a 31-year-old man at the scene.
Kumar said four individuals, including two women, were later detained.
Two men and a woman, aged between 28 and 55, were arrested in the Iskandar Puteri area on Monday.
They were taken to the Johor Bahru Court Complex yesterday and remanded for four days to assist police in their investigation while the fourth suspect was also remanded.
“The suspects are being held under sexual assault charges because the child was handled without consent. We are investigating the motive as there were no calls for ransom.”
He said all suspects are Malaysian citizens and not related to the victim.
The suspects are being held for kidnapping under Section 365 of the Penal Code and Section 14 (A) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which pertains to touching a child for sexual purposes.
“The girl has been sent to a hospital for a medical examination and her family has been informed.”
He advised the public to be more responsible, after the girl’s parents received false information about her following her disappearance.
Her mother Leo Qieo Xin, 37, said the false information and rumours were posted on social media.
The girl was reported missing during a Bon Odori Japanese festival at the Eco Galleria in Iskandar Puteri, Johor Bahru at 8.30pm on Saturday.
She was reportedly last seen by her father and was wearing a white T-shirt with a Mickey Mouse print and shorts.
Photos of the girl, said to have been taken at the event, made its rounds on social media platforms to alert the public that she had gone missing.
