Disappearance of Tin Song Sheng

Tin Song Sheng
Born (1989-08-06) 6 August 1989 (age 35)
Klang, Selangor, Malaysia
Disappeared12 January 1996 (aged 6)
Klang, Selangor, Malaysia
StatusMissing for 29 years and 3 days
Parents
  • Gan Kim Choo (mother)
  • Tin Kuwi Diun (father)

On 12 January 1996,[a] seven-year old Tin Song Sheng (Chinese: 田鬆生, romanized: Tián Sōng Shēng) disappeared from Taman Rashna Chinese Primary School in Klang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Song Sheng went missing while waiting for the bus to return home after his second week of primary school. His body has never been found and he has never been proven to be dead. No kidnapping or murder charges have ever been filed.[1][2]

Disappearance

On 12 January 1996,[a] after the school session had concluded, Tin Song Sheng waited for the bus outside the Taman Rasah Chinese Primary School compound in Klang to return home. He was last seen leaving the school with an unidentified middle-aged Chinese woman who wearing a sunglasses and driving a white van.[3][4]

Search efforts and investigation

Tin Song Sheng's parents, Gan Kim Choo and Tin Kuwi Diun, filed a police report the day after the incident, and spent RM40,000 searching for their son, including hiring 80 shamans.[5]

On 16 January 1996, four days after Song Sheng's disappearance, his family appealed to the public to help trace him.[6] At the same time, the police conduct a search for a middle-aged Chinese woman who kidnapped Song Sheng.[7]

Song Sheng's older brother with a similar name, Tin Song Seng appealed to the kidnappers to return his brother and said: Please give my brother back. I love him.[8][9]

A nationwide search and publicity drive was spearheaded by the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) Chairman Michael Chong, who enlisted the help of the media, non-governmental organisations and indigenous people to search for Song Sheng in the jungle. Chong got Thai border authorities to search for the boy.[10][11]

A RM5,000 reward was offered by his family to the public for those who have information about the missing boy.[12] Pos Malaysia distributed about 100,000 of his posters to the public and distributed to all homes and premises in Klang Valley, with the assistance of postmen, Mohd Amin Yusof, one of Pos Malaysia workers.[13] On 27 January, the police appealing to the public to locate Song Sheng's whereabouts and asking for them to provide information on a woman who kidnapped the boy.[14][15]

The National Union of the Teaching Profession, on 29 Janaury, has asked all teachers to give priority to locate Song Sheng's whereabouts.[16] At the same time, businessman and trader William Liew Soo Teng offering a reward of RM5,000 to anyone who can help bring him back to his parents.[17] A day later, the public began searching for Song Sheng with a little assistance from Pos Malaysia which starts its distribution of the 100,000 posters of him in Cheras.[18]

The story of his disappearance was reenacted on TV3's docudrama TV series, Kisah Benar (True Stories) in an episode of its 17th season and it ended with a short segment of Song Sheng's parents, Kim Choo and Kuwi Diun making a heartfelt plea to the kidnappers to return their child.[19]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b There are sources that contradicts Song Sheng's disappearance date, with some sources gives 15 January as incorrect disappearance date, as do others. However, 12 January was his correct disappearance date.

References

  1. ^ "It's been 17 years and Song Sheng is still missing". The Star Online. 26 January 2013. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  2. ^ Zulkarnain Zakaria (20 April 2014). "Ghaib ke alam lain?". Utusan Malaysia. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  3. ^ Haiziee Mohd Salleh (17 January 1996). "Ibu bapa takut anak diculik". Harian Metro. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  4. ^ Kadir Dikoh; Jami'ah Shukri (12 April 2007). "Orang hilang meningkat setiap tahun". Berita Harian. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  5. ^ Rosniza Mohamad (28 July 1998). "Gan, Tin menunggu kepulangan Song Sheng". Utusan Malaysia. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  6. ^ "Family of missing boy appeals for help". New Straits Times. 16 January 1996. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Police looking for woman who abducted schoolboy". New Straits Times. 17 January 1996. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  8. ^ Aminuddin Ibrahim (22 January 1996). "Kembalikan adik saya". Harian Metro. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Family in distress, police puzzled by boy's abduction". New Straits Times. 22 January 1996. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  10. ^ Azlan Ramli (26 December 2016). "30 years of public service". The Sun Daily. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  11. ^ Nicholas Cheng (28 December 2013). "Parents never learn when it comes to missing kids, says Chong". The Star Online. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  12. ^ Haiziee Mohd Salleh (19 January 1996). "RM5,000 hadiah serah budak". Harian Metro. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  13. ^ Rene Leow (27 January 1996). "Pos Malaysia to help trace missing boy by distributing 100,000 posters". New Straits Times. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Missing boy: Police seek public help". New Sunday Times. 28 January 1996. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  15. ^ "Polis minta bantu kes culik". Berita Minggu. 28 January 1996. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  16. ^ "Help locate missing boy, teachers urged". New Straits Times. 29 January 1996. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  17. ^ Rene Leow (27 January 1996). "RM5,000 reward offer by trader". The Malay Mail. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Pos Malaysia starts sending out posters of missing boy". New Straits Times. 30 January 1996. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Tin Song Sheng". Kisah Benar (Motion picture). Season 17. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Perwarna (M) Sdn. Bhd. 1998.

Further reading