“We have received a report from our Philippine counterpart that the boy is still alive and believed to be still in Marawi,” Fuzi told FMT.
“But we have not received any information from the Philippine authorities on whether his father’s body has been found despite reports that he was killed during clashes with troops.”
On Oct 20, FMT reported that the boy, believed to be about 13 years old, was seen fighting security forces in the city besieged by pro-Islamic State (IS) groups.
FMT then reported its findings to Malaysian police who later went to the militant’s family home in Sabah and confirmed that the boy had been taken to Marawi by his father in 2015 or 2016.
The authorities have reported encountering armed resistance from women and children in Marawi, believed to be family members of the terrorists.
However, the Malaysian teen is the only foreign minor reported to have been involved in the fighting in Marawi.
FMT had learned about the teenager from a former hostage, college teacher Lordvin Acopio, who said that the Philippine authorities knew that the boy was the son of the Malaysian militant.
Acopio, who was taken hostage by the militants when fighting broke out on May 23, said the boy was always with his father and the duo were mostly at the frontline instead of at the rebels’ command centre.
“I only talked to the boy when they dropped by at the place where we, the hostages, were held,” he said.
“Sometimes, they just dropped by to rest or talk to some of the other fighters. When they were done, they’d go back to the frontline.”
Acopio, whose harrowing four-month hostage experience was widely reported by the Philippine media, was taken by the militants from one hiding place to another, including the Bato Mosque, which was used as a command centre by the terrorists.
“There were children who were kidnapped along with their families, around 15 of them, and the Malaysian boy would play with them.
“I think the Malaysian militant and his son could speak Tagalog. I don’t know what they talked about because we weren’t allowed to listen in,” he was quoted as saying.
Acopio said he did not know the boy’s exact age but estimated him to be about 13. “He’s small but already carrying a gun. He was involved in fighting the troops.”
More than 1,100 people, mostly militants, were killed during the fighting between the militants and security forces which lasted about five months.
Teenage son fighting alongside Malaysian militant ‘commander’ in Marawi