Security guard saw girl being abducted but looked the other way

Rescue personnel removing the body of the 2-year-old girl, who witnesses said was killed by a suspect in central Kuala Lumpur. A security guard at the Kota Raya shopping mall saw Siti Soffea Emelda being abducted but did nothing to stop the suspect, The Malaysian Insider reported today. – The Malaysian Insider pic, May 30, 2014.A security guard at the Kota Raya shopping mall saw Siti Soffea Emelda being abducted but did nothing to stop the suspect.

Siti Soffea, who is two-and-a-half years old, was found decapitated by the banks of the Klang River, near Jalan Hishammudin in Kuala Lumpur last night.

The Malaysian Insider learnt that this was revealed on closed-circuit television video footage taken from the premises.

"At the time of the incident, which occurred on the fourth floor, a security guard was present.

"The guard saw the suspect approaching Siti Soffea, who was seen trying to hide behind a pillar.

"However, the suspect grabbed Siti Soffea and walked off.

"The guard did not do anything to stop the suspect from running off with the girl," a police source told The Malaysian Insider.

Initial police investigations revealed that her mother, Siti Salmy, 32, is homeless and jobless.

Sources told The Malaysian Insider that Siti Soffea's father is currently serving time in prison.

"As such, Siti Salmy and her daughter roam around Kuala Lumpur and depend on the charity of others," the source said.

Police revealed that Siti Salmy has three children but the other two are currently living with relatives.

Only Siti Soffea follows her mother, who is from Kuala Lumpur, as they roam around the capital city daily.

In last night's incident, two Sabahans saw a man carrying Siti Soffea as he made his way through the long grass at the river banks."

"The two eyewitnesses saw the suspect strangling the victim while pushing her onto the ground.

"The suspect then grabbed something that appeared to be a ceramic object, using it to hit the victim."

The two Sabahans then alerted auxiliary police at the nearby Public Bank building.

When the suspect noticed the auxiliary police running towards him, he jumped into the Klang River.

Both Sabahans were later taken back to the city police headquarters in Jalan Hang Tuah to compile a photofit of the suspect.

When police found Siti Soffea's body by the side of the Klang River at the back of the Kuala Lumpur KTM Komuter station (the former main railway station), near Jalan Tun Sambanthan. she was clad in a pair of white pants with pampers.

Police recovered a pair of sandals believed to be the suspect's, a pair of children's sandals, a while sleeveless top, hair band and ceramic pieces from the scene.

Although initial investigations reported that the suspect was a foreigner, police believe he is a local who was recently released from prison.

The suspect is believed to be a drug addict who works as a car park attendant near Kota Raya.

City Criminal Investigation Department chief senior assistant commissioner Gan Kong Meng said police received a tip-off at 9pm.

Gan said Siti Salmy had been hanging out at Kota Raya with her friends at 3pm when she suddenly needed to use the toilet.

She had asked her friends to watch over her daughter while she went to the ladies room.

"When the mother came out from the toilet about five minutes later, she found that her daughter was missing.

"The mother and her friends searched around the shopping mall but failed to find any sign of the girl," Gan said.

Police believe that the suspect had attempted to rape the girl and hit her when she struggled.

Siti Soffea's body has been sent to the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital for an autopsy.

Gan said police believed that the suspect had drowned and were carrying out search and rescue operations in the area.