Restaurant owner seeks abandoned boy’s parents
JOHOR BARU: A 56-year-old restaurant owner has pleaded for the parents of a little boy abandoned on her premises more than two months ago to take the child home.
Junainah Ngadiman said she was put in a bind after a woman in her 30s left the boy, who is about 4, at her restaurant on Sept 10.
“It was about 10am and the woman, a stranger, approached me as I was chopping vegetables.
“The woman said she wanted to buy groceries at a sundry shop and asked if she could leave her son under my care for a while. I agreed, thinking it would take only a few minutes, but when the woman failed to return after an hour, I started to worry.”
Junainah, whose restaurant is in Kampung Sentosa, Masai, said she went to look for the woman at sundry shops, but failed to find her.
She said the boy could not provide information of his parents as he knew only a few Malay words, and did not know his name either.
“The boy has stayed with me ever since. It has been two months and there has been no sign of her.”
She said she had since lodged a report and placed an advertisement in newspapers calling for the boy’s family members.
“If the boy’s mother reads this news, I hope she can come to meet me.
“If she wants to give him up for adoption, I am willing to apply and initiate the adoption process. I can take care of him, provided it is done legally.”