Keep your word, Yin’s dad told
Wednesday, 18 April 2007, 08:28am
• Up to cops to investigate, says Yin’s dad
• Pasangan Myanmar diberkas, bapa Yin kena marah
©New Straits Times (Used by permission)
by Fadhal Ilahi Abd Ghani
KUALA LUMPUR: Yin’s father is being bombarded with text messages, accusing him of being ungrateful and not keeping to his word.
The senders are aghast that police have arrested the Myanmar couple who handed Yin back to his family.
They feel that Shamsul Ghazali Shamsuddin should step in and persuade police not to take any action against the couple as the boy was returned unharmed.
"I have been receiving an average of 70 text messages from the public. They want me to honour my word. They are accusing my wife and me of being ungrateful and not keeping my word," Shamsul said.
In one of his many pleas to the public, Shamsul had said that he would not take any action against the person who took Yin away if the boy was returned unhurt.
The 34-year-old bank officer and his wife Nor Amizah Ahmad, 27, were reminded that in most cases, the victims were never heard of again.
Shamsul, while admitting that he had said he would forgive the culprit if his son was returned safely, yesterday said the matter was out of his hands.
"The police had decided to arrest the couple. I cannot interfere in that," he said.
"Let the police decide if they are guilty. For me and my wife, we hold nothing against them. Yin has been returned to us unharmed. That is all that matters to us."
To show that he is a man of his words, Shamsul yesterday announced that he would hand over the reward money of RM13,000 to the couple if police find no case against them.
But if they are charged, the reward will be given to the Welfare Department.
A reward of RM15,000 was collected for the safe return of the boy. Shamsul has set aside RM2,000 for the National Union of Journalists for the media’s role in highlighting the boy’s disappearance.
Shamsul yesterday visited the Myanmar couple’s home in Sentul Pasar to see for himself the condition his son was living in during his two-week stay with the couple. He spent about an hour at the shack. He also spoke to neighbours.
"I cannot imagine that my son stayed in this shack. The shack and the surroundings are filthy," Shamsul said.
A visibly shaken Shamsul said no one should live in such conditions.
The brother of the female suspect met Shamsul at the scene. He pleaded with Shamsul not to take any action against his sister.
The man, in his 30s, explained to Shamsul that his sister was illiterate and that they did not have a television set at home, and that was why they did not know that Yin’s parents were looking for him.
The man also explained that his sister would go begging during weekends with her 2-year-old son and during that time, her husband stayed back to look after Yin and their other children.
He also explained that from Mondays to Thursdays, his brother-in-law would go out to look for scrap metal, leaving his wife behind with Yin and their children.
Yin, or Muhammad Nazrin Shamsul Ghazali, had gone missing on March 31 while shopping with his family at the Sogo department store in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.
His disappearance sparked a two-week nationwide search which included several government agencies.
On Saturday, the Myanmar couple handed the boy back to his parents after seeing a poster of the boy near Sogo.
The Myanmar woman alleged that on the day Yin disappeared, she rescued him while he was trying to cross the road. She said she took Yin to Sogo and waited for more than an hour and took him back when no one came for him.
A day after the boy was reunited with his family, police picked up the 27-year-old woman and her 32-year-old husband who are now being investigated for abduction.
Their remand ends tomorrow.
