‘Our daughter ran away even though we did everything for her’

Zawiah and Ghazali (not their real names) went through difficult times last year when their 16-year-old daughter went missing twice.

The first time she went missing, they found her in Kuala Lumpur and brought her home.

“We thought she had been kidnapped because her belongings, documents and clothes were untouched in her room.

“When she contacted us a month later, she told us her whereabouts and that she was safe.

“Although we were relieved that she was unharmed, we were still worried,” said the mother of three from Kampung Beceh in Kota Baru.

Zawiah, 38, said they later found her daughter in Kuala Lumpur and took her home.

When her daughter went missing again months later, Zawiah and her husband knew something was wrong and lodged a police report.

“She went missing again in December.

“We knew it had something to do with the man she was with, so we lodged a report.”

Zawiah, a housewife, said the family exhausted all avenues to locate their daughter. The couple even sought help from spiritual healers.

Police found the girl shortly after the missing persons report was lodged.

She was living with a friend in a neighbouring country.

Ghazali said poverty could be one of the reasons why their daughter was unhappy at home.

“We can’t give her much and we can’t afford many of the things she likes, such as new clothes... But we love her very, very much.

“Sadly, despite everything we have done for her, she chose to follow her boyfriend instead,” said the 40-year-old carpenter.