A 14-year-old schoolboy in Kedah allegedly fabricated a kidnapping story after becoming embarrassed and distressed over accidentally entering the girls’ toilet at his new school, police have revealed.
Kedah Police Chief Datuk Adzli Abu Shah said the kidnapping claim, which went viral on social media on Monday, was found to be completely false following an investigation.
The teenager had lodged a police report claiming he was abducted by two unknown men near a restaurant in Kuala Nerang on Sunday afternoon before being taken to Durian Burung, near the Malaysia–Thailand border.
According to the report, the boy alleged that the men handcuffed him, tied his hands, covered his mouth and forced him into a vehicle before later kicking him out by the roadside, where he was eventually rescued by local residents.
However, police investigations uncovered a very different sequence of events.
Adzli said the boy had only recently transferred to the school and mistakenly entered the girls’ toilet while waiting for football practice. He unexpectedly encountered a female student inside, prompting several girls to chase him after suspecting he had entered with bad intentions.
Feeling ashamed and frightened, the teenager fled the school and eventually accepted rides on two motorcycles that took him to Durian Burung.
Villagers later noticed the boy wandering around the area and contacted the police, leading to his safe recovery.
Police also discovered that the teenager had previously been bullied at his former school before transferring to the school in Kuala Nerang.
Adzli said four students have already been arrested in connection with the earlier bullying case, which is being investigated under Section 507B of the Penal Code.
He did not rule out the possibility that the teenager’s past experience as a bullying victim contributed to his decision to run away and invent the kidnapping story due to emotional pressure.
The false kidnapping report is now being investigated under Section 182 of the Penal Code for providing false information to the police.
Meanwhile, Adzli revealed that bullying cases in Kedah have dropped significantly, from 43 cases recorded in 2025 to just seven cases reported up to last month this year.
