2 missing Orang Asli children found alive

Two Orang Asli children who have been missing since August in the jungles of Kelantan were found alive today near Sungai Perias in Gua Musang. The Star reported that the two were Norieen Yaacob, 10 and Mirsudial Aluj, 11, the oldest among the seven who went missing from SK Tohoi on August 23. They were found in a malnourished state and have been sent to the Gua Musang Hospital, the report said. Yesterday, authorities confirmed finding the decomposed body of Sasa Sobrie, 8, at Sungai Perias, some 500m from the SK Tohoi hostel. Kelantan police chief Kelantan Datuk Mazlan Lazim said a member of Sasa's family identified the body based on the marks found on it. Police said more skeletal remains were by the river yesterday evening, but have yet to confirm if they were the missing children. The seven children, aged between 7 and 11 years old, are believed to have run away from the school hostel for fear of disciplinary action by their teacher for bathing in a river. Meanwhile, news portal Malaysiakini reported Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun saying the authorities did all they could to look for the missing children earlier. "The authorities never stopped looking for those seven children," she was quoted today, adding that the Orang Asli Affairs Department acted immediately as soon as the children were reported missing. She said the ministry would offer counselling services and monetary aid, if need be, to the families of the children. But parents of the missing children had told The Malaysian Insider on a recent visit to Pos Tohoi that the authorities were slow in investigating their disappearance. Parents interviewed said the police had accused them of "hiding" the children, and that official search and rescue operations had only begun on August 28, five days after the children went missing. – October 9, 2015.