S'porean couple say they didn't 'buy' Malaysian girl and have returned her to JB

A Malaysian girl who was 'adopted' by a Singaporean couple after she was sold off by her father has been returned to Johor Baru.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the Singaporean husband and wife have clarified that they did not 'buy' the two-year-old toddler.

Angie Tiong's drug-addict father had previously lodged a police report over her disappearance last month, but it was later found that he had sold her off for RM12,000 (S$3,900).

The girls' relatives had been taking care of her qgwb Angie's father took her away from them on Nov 9, claiming that he was taking her out to play.

Her mother, a Vietnamese national, returned to Vietnam when she was five months old.

The childless couple from Singapore in their 40s was then said to have adopted Angie. It was done through a middleman who got a lawyer in Johor Baru to do the paperwork. It is believed that the couple has never seen Angie's biological father.

According to The Straits Times, Angie's aunt Tiong Mei Ling, 36, a hawker stall helper in Singapore, and uncle Luo Jie Cheng, 49, a furniture worker, said they will ask the Singaporean couple to return the girl.

They almost had a reunion when couple from Singapore was taking Angie to the Johor Police Headquarters on Thursday, and Ms Tiong and her husband rushed to the station to see the girl, Lianhe Wanbao reported.

They waited for five hours, but there was no sign of Angie or the couple.

Mr Luo said they probably backed out due to the media attention.

Meanwhile, the Singaporean couple told Shin Min that they have returned the child to Johor Baru through the assistance of the middleman.

The man had met up with her aunt on Friday (Jan 2), and Angie is scheduled to be reunited with her family by Jan 4.

Police have now arrested three suspects -- a cook, a labourer and an unemployed man -- all aged between 30 and 33 years, in their investigation into the "kidnapping" case and are on the lookout for more.

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