Her parents filed a missing person report with the police and a search for her was undertaken in the subsequent weeks by several organisations, including the news media and NGOs.
[3] At the time, Nurin Jazlin's parents were not able to identify the body as their daughter's due to the changes in her physical features; it was even suggested that the child might be a foreigner, as she lacked the scar which would be caused by the mandatory BCG vaccination against tuberculosis.
Malaysian media and Internet blogs have been filled with anger and disbelief in reaction to the case, and the murder is widely considered to be "the country's most horrifying crime in years.
[9] Inspector-general of police Musa Hassan initially suggested that he would investigate whether Nurin's parents had been negligent, an offence which could lead to charges under Section 33 of the Child Act 2001.
[10] The suggestion provoked public outcry, most prominently from Lee Lam Thye, chairman of the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation, who responded that punishing the parents further would be unfair.