Police slam 'derogatory' posts under missing-people alerts

WHEN girls and women go missing, the posts on social media are often riddled with comments accusing them of willingly leaving home to be with a male romantic interest.

The police on Wednesday condemned such comments and asked users to "think before they post."

In a Facebook post on Wednesday afternoon, the police said they note "with great concern the derogatory comments by some users geared towards missing persons.

"When persons go missing, we do not know the circumstances. We urge users that if your contributions do nothing except bash and demoralise some missing persons, especially minors, who were in harm's way, to please cease and desist. Our role is to protect and serve with pride!"

Several commenters supported the statement.

One user said, "It seems some of us have lost our ability to empathise in such situations. Only when it hits close to home we then see things from a different perspective."

Another said, "I agree with this. If persons have nothing meaningful to contribute, they shouldn't comment at all."