IPOH: It's been three years since Gopeng Ultra Trail 2019 participant Mohammad Ashraf Hassan or better known as Acap went missing, but his family is not giving up their search for him.
March 23 marked the date Acap disappeared while taking part in the race from Gua Tempurug near here. He was with 485 other male and female runners in the 25km category but never made it back to the finish line.
Yesterday, Acap's brother, Mohd Zahiruddin, through his Facebook account Denny Lang, offered RM12,000 cash reward to anyone who manages to find his brother before the month of Syawal.
"Anyone who manages to find my brother Acap before Hari Raya will be given a cash prize of RM12,000," he said in the posting.
Zahiruddin or Zaid also explained the many challenges faced by the family following Acap's disappearance but managed to cast them aside.
"In these three years, many stories have emerged about Acap.
"Ironically, people prefer bad stories to good ones. Some say he ran away, some say he married a 'bunian' (elf) and did not want to return, others say he was captured by a jinn for stealing stones ... eating snails and so on," he said.
Zaid said there was no denying that speculations involving his brother's disappearance continued to be spread to this day, possibly by social media practitioners seeking attention in the pursuit of content.
"All this stems from the naughty contents (uploaded by) YouTubers and influencers who are out of ideas.
"Deliberately highlighting the issue with fabricated 'hoaxes' to get their 'ratings' up and other rewards," he said.
He said despite all the fictional stories being churned out, none of them provided tangible results or helped in their search effort.
Instead, he said the stories only saddened the family further as they waited for Acap's return.
"Do you realise... amid all the rewards (you) gained, there is a grieving mother... a heartbroken family...and a small child who had lost a father," he said.
He said that with the coming of Ramadan, everyone should be more self-reflective.
"Blessed is the coming month of Ramadan and as the eldest brother in the family, I want to say to everyone... enough is enough.
"Life is short. Such a disaster can happen to anyone. May Allah protect us from all disasters," he said.