Parents warned after 2 kidnap attempts

Malaysian police have reminded parents to be mindful of their children's safety in schools and public areas, in light of attempted kidnappings at two primary schools in Johor Baru recently.

Seri Alam Superintendent Abdul Samad Salleh said that following the two recent cases - one in Plentong village and another in Taman Johor Jaya - police would double their patrols in schools and public areas.

"I hope parents and the school authorities will play a greater role, too, in ensuring the children's security," he said on Thursday.

He reminded parents and teachers of the importance of inculcating crime safety awareness among children, and of telling them they should not speak to strangers.

Mr Samad said police were investigating the two cases, to see if they were related.

On Monday, a 10-year-old avoided an abduction attempt by a man while waiting for his mother to pick him up from his school in Taman Johor Jaya around 1pm.

According to the boy, the man told him that his mother was unable to fetch him.

The boy, taught not speak to strangers, ignored the man, who then grabbed his schoolbag. His friends screamed at the man to let him go.

The man fled as a security guard went to the boy's rescue.

In mid-April, an alert 41-year-old housewife saved her eight-year-old son from an attempted kidnapping at his school in Plentong around noon.

The boy was entering the school compound when a car with two men suddenly pulled up.

The mother called out to the boy to run back towards her car just as one of the men made a grab for him.

This article was first published on May 16, 2015.
Get The New Paper for more stories.