KUCHING: Authorities searching for missing toddler Eric Chang Wei Jie’s body have no new leads as operations entered the second day.
As of 2pm today, the search at Kampung Muara Tebas near here, involving personnel from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), Marine Police Region 5, and Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), is still ongoing.
A total of 20 personnel in six boats are scouring the area from the estuary to the sea—a search radius of three nautical miles—for the four-year-old toddler, reported missing since March 7.
Kuching OCPD ACP Ahsmon Bajah said police had reclassified the case from Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 to Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder yesterday, where two suspects—the babysitter and her husband—would be further remanded to assist in investigation.
On March 7, Eric, nicknamed ‘Duck Duck’ was reported missing from a house at Lorong 2, Taman Riverview, while under the care of a friend of his mother, Dynasty Chang.
It was reported that Chang had to undergo a medical procedure while Eric’s father was still recovering from an accident, thus he was unfit to take care of the child.
Hence, the family had decided to send the child to the friend’s house on Feb 21.
On the day of the incident, Chang, who is seven months pregnant, was informed that her son had gone missing at 9am and they went to search around the area but, to no avail.
Last Friday (March 11), police brought in four individuals—Chang, her husband, the caretaker and her husband—to facilitate investigation into the case under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 for neglect, abandonment or exposure of children.
All of them were tested positive for drugs and had a total of 17 criminal records. They would be remanded until March 16.
