IPOH, July 1 — A six-year-old autistic boy who was reported missing yesterday evening was found dead in an oil palm plantation in Kampung Baru, near Sungai Sumun, Hutan Melintang, last night.
Perak Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Operations Division assistant director Sabarodzi Nor Ahmad said the department received information about the missing child from the police at about 6.24 pm, after which a team from the Hutan Melintang Fire and Rescue Station was dispatched to the scene.
He said the victim's father discovered his son was missing after finding he was no longer in the house and that the front door had been left open.
"An initial search conducted by the victim's father around the house and in a nearby oil palm plantation failed to locate the victim.
"A police report on the boy's disappearance was lodged at 3.30 pm," he said in a statement today.
Sabarodzi said the victim was found in a ditch within the oil palm plantation by members of the public at about 10.08 pm during the search and rescue operation.
He said the body was handed over to the police for further action, and the operation concluded at about 11 pm.
Meanwhile, the Bagan Datuk Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM) District Operations Control Centre said in a statement that the victim was found by villagers about 330 metres from his home and was pronounced dead by a forensic team.
