KUANTAN: The tied-up, mutilated body of an 11-year-old girl was discovered by villagers in an oil palm plantation at Kampung Tanjung Medang Hilir, Pekan, yesterday.
The remains of Siti Masyitah Ibrahim, who had been missing since Jan 30, were in a shocking condition as she had been decapitated and some of her internal organs removed.
The girl’s parents – Ibrahim Ali, 39 and Zaleha Abdullah, 35 – were immediately informed of the 5pm discovery, and they rushed to the scene to positively identify their missing daughter.
“It broke my heart to see the mutilated body of my daughter. Her hands and legs were tied, and her head was separated from her body. Some internal organs were missing.
“We searched for her in the same area eleven days ago, but she was not there,” Zaleha said.
The grieving mother revealed that although the body was badly mangled, she was able to make a positive identification based on the blue dress which Siti Masyitah was wearing the day she disappeared.
At 5pm on Jan 30, Zaleha said that her daughter had asked her for RM1 so that she could purchase something at a shop, and promised to return home as soon as possible.
“She said she would return home early. That was the last time I saw her.
“I lodged a police report at the Pekan police station on the same day.
“With the help of villagers, we also mounted a search around the village every day for the past eleven days.
“I prayed for her return… (so) it broke my heart to see her mutilated body yesterday. Who is the heartless person who did this to my child?” she asked.
Siti Masyitah, the third of four siblings, was described as a jovial girl.
“Why did they kill her? What did she do to deserve such cruelty? What was her sin?” Zaleha asked.
Meanwhile, villager Mohd Rosli Mat Rasat, 38, said he was among the first to arrive at the site after being told by a friend that Siti Masyitah’s body had been discovered.
“(Over the past eleven days), we looked for her all over the village, as well as at the site where she was found.
“I suspect she was killed elsewhere and dumped in the oil palm plantation,” he said, adding that nothing like this had ever happened in the village.
Mohd Rosli said that the Forensics Division of the State Police Contingent arrived at the location at 8pm, and the body was later sent to the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital (HTAA) for further action.
Pekan police chief Superintendent Amran Sidek confirmed the discovery of the body when contacted.