A SIX-YEAR-OLD BOY, who was reported missing since last Wednesday, was found dead in a canal near Block 44 on Bendemeer Road on Wednesday morning.
A man has been arrested, said police.
The boy, Muhammad Nor Rashidy Bin Rahmat, was last seen at his home in Block 65, Kallang Bahru on Nov 18 at about 6 pm, said police, who made an appeal for information on his whereabouts on Tuesday.
The boy's aunt, Ms Nur Liana Amin, 21, told Berita Harian that a man came and took him downstairs at about 3pm last Wednesday. That was the last time she saw her nephew, whose nickname is Edy.
Ms Nur said the man and his wife, who live in Bukit Merah and are known to the family, would come at about 11am daily to take the boy to his nursery and pick him up later.
Last Wednesday, the day Edy went missing, the man's wife was taken away by police for questioning over drug offences, said Ms Nur. When the man did not return the boy at the usual time, Ms Nur said she called the man, who told her that the boy was with him and they were on their way back. But they did not show up.
The boy's frantic grandmother, Madam Asmah Asmoneh, called the man and told him to immediately send the boy back. On Friday morning, the man turned up at the flat, saying Edy was coming up shortly. He then left. When the boy failed to show up, the family called the man repeatedly but could not reach him. They later made a police report.
