SINGAPORE: Drama ensued at a Chinatown fruit stall when two children disappeared with a monk at noon on Thursday.
Suspecting a kidnap, a frantic mother searched high and low for her son, only to have him return safely about two hours later.
It turned out that it was all a simple misunderstanding.
Stallholder Junraen Panjart was busy at her Sago Street fruit stall when a Korean monk bought about $20 worth of fruits from her.
She said: "I saw him gesturing to my son and the girl who were playing behind me and they followed him down the road. I noticed his robe, so I wasn't worried at the time."
But when her 10-year old son, Yip Chumum, and 8-year old Malaysian grand-daughter of a restaurant helper did not return after about 20 minutes, Junraen panicked.
Her husband, Yip Wai Keong, was away at the time, so she sought the help of a neighbour.
Tan Suan Heng, a coffeeshop assistant, said: "This lady asked me if I saw her son. I said I didn't see and asked her why. She said her son followed a monk. I said 'in this case, you better go and find him, maybe your child is lost'."
Junraen said: "I looked for them for about 20 minutes, but couldn't find them. So my friend called the police. I was really frightened!"
The children eventually turned up - the boy at the Outram MRT station where friends of his parents spotted him, and the girl at the City Hall MRT station.
Both children were in tears.
The police said the children had willingly followed the monk back to the Fook Hai Ch'an Monastery at Geylang East Avenue 2 in a taxi.
After they had helped the monk carry the fruits to the monastery, they went to the nearest MRT station to take a train but were separated along the way.
The police said it's fortunate that both children were not hurt during the incident.
However, police strongly advise parents to be careful with their children and not let them wonder off with strangers or people they know, particularly in the light of the recent death of Huang Na. - CNA