KUALA LUMPUR: The family, who was thought to be missing after going on vacation in Pulau Perhentian, is safe and sound.
Besut district police chief Superintendent Abdul Rozal Muhammad said it has received information from their kin that the family of four have returned safely to their home in Kluang, Johor.
He said this in a statement issued in Terengganu today.
A Facebook user Ahmad Nazrul, who is a member of the 'JNZA Gaung Global Khidmat Kommuniti Percuma', said he went looking for the missing family when his friend shared a photo of the family's car parked outside a restaurant in Kluang, Johor.
Prompted by this lead, he rushed to the eatery and confirmed that the family had stopped there for a meal.
Nazrul said that Aiman Rafee, which was among the four who went missing, had settled the bill at the restaurant, and this further convinced Nazrul that the family was safe and well.
It was previously reported that a family of four who went for a weekend getaway to Pulau Perhentian over the weekend had been reported missing and were unreachable.
Police had previously said missing people were identified as Suraidah Abdul Ghani, 52, from Kluang, Johor, and three other family members, her son Mohamad Aiman Mohd Rafee, 21, and grandchildren Sasa Alesha, 7, and Ahmad Dhani Mohd Saiful, 4.
The family are believed to have left the island on Sunday. Family members had not been able to get in touch with Suraidah or Aiman since Saturday.
Police had also said investigations found that the victims went to Pulau Perhentian on Sept 29 and they stayed at a resort there and checked out at 8am on Oct 1.
Ahmad Nazrul said that the family of four's kin had also received much false information from unknown people via telephone calls and WhatsApp after the news broke.
He claimed the parents of the missing family received hundreds of calls and thousands of WhatsApp messages with a majority of them turning out to be false information.
He said there were also some misinformation spread even as police had been gathering information.
"However, numerous resorts cooperated with the police to examine their guest lists, and the officers on Pulau Perhentian tirelessly searched for the missing family throughout the night.
"Even when rumours suggested the car was found near the jetty, they were unaware that I had explored every corner of the jetty area, including dead-end alleys, in search of their vehicle.
"I ventured as far as Bukit Keluang (Terengganu) since the family had reportedly gone hiking there before their disappearance. Every resort was scoured, and every coastal road was travelled in my search efforts," said Ahmad Nazrul, who urged people to avoid spreading false information.