SHAH ALAM – Police received 311 reports regarding missing persons in Selangor from January to November this year.
Selangor deputy police chief Datuk S Sasikala Devi said of the total, 161 missing people were aged 18 and over, while 150 individuals were under 17 years old.
She said there were 151 missing persons involving men, while there are 160 women.
"Out of a total of 311 missing person reports received by police in Selangor this year, a total of 82 people are still missing and have failed to be found until now.
"There are 50 men who have not yet been found, while the remaining 32 are women," she told Sinar on Friday.
Sasikala said the Selangor police received 293 missing person reports last year involving 142 individuals aged 17 and under and 151 aged 18 and over.
She said a total of 31 missing people were still not found last year involving 22 men and nine women.
Sasikala said that one of the causes of missing persons involving teenagers was the factor of seeking freedom.
In addition, she said another reason that contributes to the symptoms of running away from home was disharmony in the family or misunderstandings with family members.
She added there was also a group of teenagers who ran away from home because they wanted to find work at a young age but did not inform their parents or guardians.
"Most of the teenagers who run away were because of a lack of attention or love from their families, in addition to having no interest in studying and wanting to follow their friends or lovers," she said.