How a search for Tishant led to a murder investigation and a father's arrest

SHAH ALAM – What began as a missing child report ended in tragedy when six-year-old A. Tishant was found buried in Rompin, Jempol.

A post-mortem revealed he died from strangulation with a cable tie and his father is now the main suspect.

The case began on July 24, when Tishant’s father lodged a police report claiming his son went missing from Taman Bukit Indah, Iskandar Puteri.

He told police the boy disappeared when he left him briefly in a parked car to buy food.

On the same day, police arrested the 36-year-old father.

His detention led investigators nearly 200km away to Rompin, Jempol, where a burial site was discovered in a secluded area near a railway line.

Cause of death: Strangulation by cable tie

A post-mortem conducted at Rembau Hospital confirmed Tishant died from strangulation using a cable tie.

Negeri Sembilan police chief Datuk Ahmad Dzaffir Mohd Yussof said the medical team estimated the boy’s death occurred between 9am and 11am on July 23, a day before the missing report was filed.

"This was caused by pressure to the neck, consistent with strangulation using a cable tie," Ahmad Dzaffir said.

Police also recovered a hoe believed to have been used to bury the boy’s body.

Relatives have been left devastated. A family member, known as Tata, said the hardest part to accept was the alleged involvement of the boy’s own father.

“Usually when we hear about abused children, we feel sympathy. But this time it’s our family. And the suspect is not a stranger, it’s his own father,” he was reported saying.

Tishant’s mother has been unable to eat or rest since the incident.

Johor Women, Family and Community Development Committee chairman Khairin-Nisa Ismail confirmed she had attempted suicide due to the trauma and is receiving medical care.

Signs of trouble

Neighbours have since revealed troubling details. A man living next door to the family in Bandar Seri Alam said he often heard loud arguments between Tishant’s parents and the boy’s cries.

“I have been their neighbour for about a year. I often heard him crying and his parents quarrelling,” said 47-year-old Kamarudin Abdullah.

He added that he had not seen Tishant for over a month, as the parents had stopped staying at the house and would only visit separately.

The father remains in police custody in Johor, remanded until July 31.

The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder and Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 for child neglect.

He is also being probed for lodging a false police report.