KUALA LUMPUR: Police have denied allegations circulating on social media that they refused to accept a missing person's report for a teenage girl within 24 hours of her disappearance.
Sungai Buloh district police chief Superintendent Mohd Hafiz Muhammad Nor said the claim, posted on X by a user suggested that police were unwilling to file the report until the 24-hour window had passed.
However, police investigations revealed that the report was lodged just three hours and 11 minutes after the girl's mother was unable to contact her, under report number Kuang 3482/24.
"This proves that the police did accept the report within the 24-hour window," he said in a statement.
He also advised the public to be cautious when sharing unverified information online which could lead to legal action under the Penal Code and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
"Offenders could face up to two years in prison, a fine of up to RM50,000, or both," he said.
Previously, the disappearance of a girl known as Gya Natasya Abdullah went viral on social media last night after she left her home in Taman Matang Jaya, Sungai Buloh, to head to her workplace in Cheras.
The X thread later revealed at about 8am today (Oct 1) that the girl was found by a woman who was on her way to work.
Hafiz also confirmed that Gya Natasya is now with her mother.