Supt Aidil Bolhassan
KUCHING (June 24): Police have arrested a man in his 20s for allegedly raping a 14-year-old runaway he had been harbouring for over a week.
Padawan police chief Supt Aidil Bolhassan said the teenager was found by a member of the public at a hypermarket in Samariang around 3pm yesterday (June 23).
“The victim was buying a SIM card when she was identified. Her family was then informed of her location,” Aidil said in a statement today.
The victim’s mother then lodged a police report at the Batu Kawah police station, which led to the suspect’s arrest.
Investigations revealed that the victim from Petra Jaya had run away from home due to family problems and had actually been staying with the suspect in Batu Kawah.
The case is being investigated under Section 376 of the Penal Code.
It is understood that the victim had been missing since June 15 after failing to return home from school.
She had told her family that she was going to her school to collect her books.
Based on the school’s CCTV recordings, the victim did go to the school around 2.45pm but did not collect her books as claimed.
Due to the sensitivity of the case, no other details were given as to how the victim left the school.