Four Malaysian children are reported missing since Saturday, February 24 after they headed towards a forest area which is located at Kampung Telagus in Simunjan District.
A Search and Rescue (SAR) operation has been activated to find those four children, who are aged between 10 and 14.
Tiong Ling Hii, Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department assistant director said that those missing children, two boys and two girls, ran into the forest area after scolded by the family for taking bath in a river.
According to Malay Mail Online, Tiong mentioned that he received an emergency call from Simunjan police station on the incident at around 8.23 am on Sunday. After receiving the distress call, five firemen from the station were rushed to the scene.
The rescue team is still trying to locate those missing minors, as of 10.15 am local time and there was no trace of the children.
It is possible that these children did not find a way out from the forest and lost in the woods. But according to Royal Malaysian Police (RMP), this is not the first case where a family lodged a missing children complaint.
According to Star Online, Malaysia's Women, Family and Community Ministry figures show that in 2017, between January and June, a total of 723 missing children cases were reported in 181 days, involving 447 female and 276 male victims. It also showed that an average of four children go missing every day in the country.
While considering the available statistics provided by RMP, Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim mentioned that the majority of missing children were aged from 13 to 15 years.
These statistics also showcase that more than half of the missing complaints involved teenagers, who wanted to test the freedom outside their house premises.
