Boy cop takes down duo
Plucky lad’s dream of becoming a policeman comes true – and helps arrest two ‘snatch thieves’ at a shopping mall.
PETALING JAYA: Putting on his police uniform, Rayyan Seif Rizqin Mohamad Shukor entered the Damansara Utama community police station where he was debriefed before taking command.
He then helped with the arrest of two “snatch thieves” at a popular shopping mall during patrols here, keeping a close watch on the suspects as they were arrested, his hand on his “gun”.
Rayyan only relaxed when they were put away in the lock-up – all this before the boy even turns seven in October.
The plucky lad’s dream of becoming a policeman came true yesterday, courtesy of the police and the Make-A-Wish Malaysia.
He is one of the seven known Malaysians suffering from haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, a life-threatening condition of the immune system.
His father, Mohamad Shukor Ahmad, 33, said the boy had been excited ever since he went for a fitting of his tailor-made police uniform for the job.
“In his condition, he doesn’t have a lot of energy but he is very excited about being a policeman,” he told reporters at the police station.
Rayyan, he said, loves playing police and thieves with his sister and cousins at home.
“So, when Make-A-Wish asked him what he wanted to do, his only answer was that he wanted to be a policeman,” said Mohamad Shukor.
A shy Rayyan only managed to give a nod when reporters asked him if he felt excited to be a policeman for a day but shook his head fervently to a question whether he had been afraid catching the two “thieves”.
Later, the “thieves” – engineer P. Areeprakash, 26, and constuction manager, Andrew Defonzo, 42, – said it had been their pleasure to volunteer their time to give Rayyan a day to remember.
“It was our first time seated at the back of a patrol car and in the lock-up. I’m just glad they didn’t handcuff us,” joked Areeprakash.
Defonzo said the company they worked for had been sponsoring Make-A-Wish events for some time now.
“If I had to do this all over again to make another kid happy, I would,” he quipped, adding that that he hoped that pictures of them being “arrested” did not make it to social media.
Make-A-Wish Malaysia chief executive officer Irene Tan said it was pleased to grant Rayyan’s wish with the assistance of the Bandar Utama police station.
“We hope that by this, we give him strength and courage to face the medical journey he is on,” she said.
Rayyan has to undergo chemotherapy until his condition stabilises enough for a bone marrow transplant.
Mohamad Shukor said they were now depending on donations for his son’s treatment, adding that the transplant cost between RM350,000 and RM500,000.