Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Kuala Lumpur (dpa) - A Malaysian teenager confessed to falsely claiming that her one-year old son had been abducted in order to hide the fact that she had given him away, reports said Saturday.
Hue Xiao Pei, 15, who had separated from the child's father, had claimed that her young son went missing Thursday at a shopping mall while she was being interviewed for a job as a shop assistant.
The incident sparked an immediate outpouring from members of the public who launched searches for the toddler.
However, following later questioning by police, Hue confessed to making up the entire story as she did not want her mother to know that the child had been given away to a couple keen on adopting him, state police chief Huzir Mohamed said.
Following the confession, police brought the child back from the couple and placed him under the care of his father, Huzir was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper. The toddler was reported to be in good condition.
Later at a media conference, Hue apologized for duping the Good Samaritans who had come to her help, saying that she wished only for her son "to have a better life and future".
"I am jobless and depending on my mother, a divorcee. She could hardly support all of us," Hue was quoted as saying.
Police said they have yet to decide on the young mother's fate for lodging the false report.
Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
