Malaysia Notes

KUALA LUMPUR: The nephew of private investigator P. Balasubramaniam yesterday reported him and his family missing.

R. Kumaresan, 27, said he was concerned about the safety and whereabouts of Balasubramaniam, his wife and three children -- two sons, aged 6 and 11, and 9-year-old daughter.He said he had gone to their home in Rawang on Friday.

He decided to lodge a missing persons report when he found he couldn't contact them via their mobile phones.Kumaresan said he had tried to call his uncle on Thursday after seeing the television news about the press conference that was held to highlight Balasubramaniam's first statutory declaration."However, I could not get through to either of his mobile phones.

"I then called my aunt (Balasubramaniam's wife) and told her to inform me if anything goes wrong. Her voice sounded fine, so I did not suspect anything."The next day, however, I found out my uncle had given a second press conference withdrawing his first declaration. I tried to call both my uncle and aunt, but to no avail," he said."I have asked that my uncle and his family be located immediately and that I be informed of their whereabouts. If they have been detained, I want to be informed immediately."Kumaresan, accompanied by brother Segar and lawyer N. Surendran, lodged the report at the Brickfields police headquarters at 5pm.

Also present were Batu and Kapar members of parliament, Tian Chua and S. Manikavasagam, and Hindraf coordinator S. Jayathas.Brickfields police chief Assistant Commissioner Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid said the case would be forwarded to Gombak police as the family home in Rawang was in that police district.