A LOVESTRUCK Indonesian man has been accused of taking a 13-year-old Malaysian girl from her village in Penang and spiriting her away to his hometown where he allegedly turned her into his child bride.

Young and pretty, Maslina Maulat Siadin reportedly caught the eye of 18-year-old La Ila, an Indonesian worker, when he saw her near the construction site where he was working, reported Sin Chew Daily.

He was so smitten with her that he was bent on marrying her.

So on 16 Dec last year, La Ila took Maslina, the youngest of six children, from her home in Kampung Pondok Upeh in Penang.

LONG JOURNEY

He allegedly put her on a bus and took her to Johor Baru where she was then smuggled onboard a tongkang and taken to Tanjung Pinang in Indonesia.

Harian Metro reported that the girl was made to hide at the bottom of the boat during the trip.

From Tanjung Pinang, she was then taken on a ferry on a seven-day trip via Jakarta and Surabaya to Sulawesi where La Ila's family lives in a remote village.

During the journey, Maslina reportedly had to survive on bananas, corn and rain water.

Once in Sulawesi, La Ila got Maslina to adopt an Indonesian name and obtained forged identity documents for her so she would appear old enough to be married.

In the meantime, Maslina's family was frantically searching for her and had made a police report.

Early this month, they learnt from sources that she had been taken to Indonesia.

POLICE REPORT

A second police report was lodged on 10 Jan and the family sought the help of the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta and the Indonesian police to track their daughter down.

La Ila was then arrested for being illegally married and Maslina was detained at a police station in Sulawesi.

Villagers in Maslina's hometown also raised RM7,000 ($3,000) so that Maslina's father and uncle could fly to Sulawesi to bring her home.

Mr Siadin Rashid, 44, and his elder brother, Mr Jalil, an immigration officer, left for Jakarta on 17Jan, one month after the girl's ordeal began, to track down Maslina.

Mr Siadin told The New Straits Times that from Jakarta, they took a flight to Kendari, the nearest airport to Pulau Lamaraya.

He said: 'On arrival, we took a three-hour taxi ride to the mainland and were told by the local authorities that Maslina and a man had been detained at the police station.

'We went straight to the station where a tearful Maslina rushed out and hugged me. Iwas so happy to finally be able to see and hold her after all this time.'

Maslina appeared frail and tired and was also running a high fever.

But there were other problems.

Maslina had entered Indonesia illegally and therefore the local authorities had to verify her identity as she had used fake documents.

As she did not have a passport, MrSiadin and his brother spent two days getting travel documents for her from the Malaysian Embassy before being allowed to take her out of the police station on 19 Jan.

Maslina flew back to Penang with her family on 22 Jan.

Speaking to reporters at his home on Friday, Mr Siadin said Maslina told him that she was hypnotised into following La Ila.

He said: 'I was shocked when Maslina told me that she was given a potion to drink to make her forget about her family before she was taken to Indonesia.'

Maslina's mother, Madam Salmiah Hussin, was thankful that her youngest daughter was finally home.

She said: 'I'm so happy. I plan to throw a thanksgiving gathering to celebrate her return.'

Maslina, who is now back in school, declined to be interviewed.

ARDUOUS JOURNEY

• Maslina is taken from village in Penang to JB by bus
• She is then hidden on tonkang and taken to Tanjung Pinang in Riau
• They transfer to ferry which takes them to Sulawesi, the man's hometown, via Jakarta and Surabaya. The trip takes seven days

This story was first published on Jan 27, 2008.