A sixteen-year-old boy who told his parents he was going to the gym on January 25 and never returned home to follow the Thaipusam chariot with his father.
He never returned home
M. Jethendran called his mother at around 3.45pm that Friday saying that he was taking a taxi back to their home in Sri Petaling from the gym in Taman Desa.
He did not make it back home, which was approximately 10km away from the gym, and calls to his mobile phone went unanswered.
CCTV footage shows that he left the gym
CCTV footage from a shop nearby the gym shows Jethendran walking out of walking out of the gym and down the block, where the footage ends.
Calls to Jethendran’s friends confirmed that he was at the gym and that he left at about 3.30pm.
Nothing out of the ordinary
The boy's father, R. Mahadheven, who is a 49-year-old mechanic, said that Jethendran had been returning home from the gym in a taxi for past month.
Mahadheven said that there was no disagreement between his son and any of his family members prior to when he went missing.
Gym trainer, Florian Kosta, 39, whom Jethendran had been training with for over four years, mentioned that Jethendran had not shown any unusual behaviour that day.
A skilled footballer
Jethendran, the eldest of three siblings, is described good boy and a skilled footballer.
Mahadheven said the family has been conducting prayers for Jethendran's safe return every day since his disappearance.
“I'm very sad. My youngest son, who is only four, keeps asking me about his big brother,” replied distraught Mahadheven.
Keep a look out!
Jethendran was last seen wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and was carrying a backpack.
He is 1.67m tall and wears braces.
Those with information on the missing teen can call Thangaraj at 013-351 4209 or Mahadheven at 010-215 1907.
Five-year-old still missing
Five-year-old T. Sathiskumar went missing at a food court in Bukit Mertajam more than five months ago and till today is still not found.
Sathiskumar was reported missing after going to buy sweets at a food court in Jalan Permatang Pauh, Bukit Mertajam, at about 12.30pm on August 8.
He was travelling with his stepfather who was driving a lorry to Bukit Kayu Hitam to deliver goods when they stopped at the food court so that the boy’s grandfather could go down to get some food.
Sathiskumar then reportedly asked for RM1 to buy some sweets then also got down from the lorry.
The boy’s stepfather thought that his son had managed to find his grandfather who then returned without Sathiskumar a while after.
Anyone with information on Sathiskumar’s whereabouts, can SMS investigating officer Insp Mohamad Ehsan Abu Bakar at 012-2494002 or call the Bukit Mertajam police operations room (04-5382222).
Do not leave your children unsupervised
Despite all these cases of missing children in Malaysia. You still see children walking home from school alone or playing on the streets unsupervised.
You may think that having your missing kid distributed on the newspaper or the internet will not happen to you, but I’m sure the mothers of all the missing children in Malaysia felt the same.
We should all learn from the parents who have tragically lost their kids and keep you child close to you and do not leave them unsupervised at any point in time especially if they're below 10-years-old.
For tips of how to keep your child safe from dangerous situations read this article.
Sources:
Mechanic’s son goes missing after gym class last Friday
Still no sight of Sathiskumar after five months
Family still hopeful of finding boy