Mother pines for teenage daughter who ran away with Myanmar worker

KUANTAN, Malaysia - A woman is pleading for her 18-year-old daughter, who has run away to be with a Myanmar man she cannot forget, to come home.

Wong May Lee, 43, said Tan Wan Lin went missing on Monday, leaving behind a note that said she "wanted to be independent".

"My daughter met this Myanmar man in August at a restaurant where she worked part-time," Wong, who sought help from Kuantan MCA deputy chairman Datuk Andy Chiew, said.

"I did not know about their relationship until I found out that she was playing truant from school frequently over the past two months.

"I did some checks and found that she was in contact with the man," Wong said. "So, I confronted him and told him to leave my daughter alone."

The man, she added, swore in front of a Commissioner of Oaths to do as she asked and even told her that he would leave town.

Wong, who is a housewife, said Wan Lin then became upset. "But she did not voice her dissatisfaction. "I told her that the man was lying to her because he told me that he was already married.

"I thought I had already convinced her, but she told her sister that she could not forget the foreigner," she added.

Wong said she went to check on her daughter in her room at 7am on Monday, but the girl was gone - along with all her clothes.

"She even took the oath signed by the man," Wong said.

"Perhaps, she thought she could help him. "I fear she has run off with him."

Wong said her daughter did not pick up the calls made to her handphone.

"She sent a text message to tell me that she is safe and told me not to worry. I just want my daughter to come home. "No matter what her problem is, I want to tell her that we can talk it out," said Wong. -Asiaone