Father of kidnapped boy buys print ad to clear taxi driver's name
P. DIVAKARAN
thestAR
A screengrab from the video showing Hanizan bringing the boy home to his family.
PETALING JAYA: The father of a kidnapped boy has bought a print advertisement to clear the name of the taxi driver who reunited him with his family.
In a notice posted in a Malay daily, the boy's father, 31, said that he and his family were confident that cab driver Hanizan Mohamed Radzi, 41, was not involved in the kidnapping of his son.
The father of the boy also thanked him and said that he was very grateful to Hanizan for safely bringing his son home.
However, he also expressed regret that Hanizan's and his family's lives had been affected.
The father stressed that Hanizan had acted nobly and that he sincerely hoped his support would bring justice to him and his family.
He also stated that he wanted to ensure that Hanizan's reputation was not tarnished by the incident.
On Oct 9, the boy was kidnapped outside of his kindergarden in Sungai Chua, Kajang, which was was captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV).
The boy was returned to his family by Hanizan eight hours later.
Hanizan was arrested along with three other men over the kidnapping.
The police later cleared him of kidnapping, saying that they found no link between the alleged kidnappers and Hanizan.
However, he is set to appear in court as a key witness in the case.
Three other men have been charged under Section 3(1) of the Kidnapping Act 1961 for abduction, wrongful restraint or wrongful confinement for ransom.
Hanizan had earlier said he had found the boy wandering on a roadside and recognised him from images on social media.
