Family in search of missing 87-year-old

The Star

Tan...suffers from dementia and Alzheimer's disease.JOHOR BAHRU: Going for walks has been a daily routine for 87-year-old Tan Sue Yong, but last Tuesday he might have wandered off a little too far.

Tan did not return home to Lorong Enam, Yong Peng, and his family, the police, Rela members, and Yong Peng residents have been searching for him but without success.

Tan’s son, Roger, said his father, who suffered from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, usually went for a walk twice a day.

He said the family became worried when his father did not return by nightfall last week.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, who was in Yong Peng for a function yesterday, called on Tan’s wife to express his concern and assured her that the authorities would do their best to find Tan.

Roger, a lawyer, said his father liked to walk along the forest or areas with plenty of vegetation - anything which resembled a rubber estate where he once worked.

He said this was the second time his father had gone missing for several days, the last being in 1998. Then, Tan had taken off on his old motorcycle and was found two days later in Malacca.

“At other times some good Samaritan would bring him home after finding him wandering outside the house late in the evenings.”

“We are really worried about his well-being because of his old age and health. The family hopes that those who have seen him will help to send him home to us,” he added.

Tan was wearing a straw hat, a striped short-sleeve white shirt and brown long pants when he left home on May 23. He also had his identification papers with him.

Roger urged anyone with information that would lead to his father’s whereabouts to contact him.

They can contact him at 019-7651289 or the police (07-4671222).