Distraught Mum Seeks Public Help To Look For Missing Son In Malaysia

British teen David Renz Balisong flew from Manchester and landed in KLIA on 7 June and has gone missing.

Credit: Chee Heng Kuan/FB

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A 17-year-old British teenager, David Renz Galletes Balisong, has been missing since entering Malaysia on 7 June 2025. He’s the eldest of three sons and dreamed of becoming a cybersecurity expert.

The timeline of his whereabouts are as follows:

Sometime March- David made unusual purchases, including at a clothing store the family often visited together.

4 May onwards- David stopped attending school unbeknownst to his family. He would take the bus to the last stop and return.

6 June- Flew from Manchester and allegedly had £1,200 (RM6,892.14) on him.

7 June- Landed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. He was last sighted at the KL Sentral lobby at 10.09pm.

9 June- David’s mother, Minerva, received an email allegedly sent by her son. The message asked the family not to search for him and to pray for his safety instead. He also allegedly apologised for not informing them when he would return.

The authorities said there’s no immigration record of David exiting the country.

Image: Chee Heng Kuan aka Uncle Kentang/FB

Miverva arrived in Kuala Lumpur on 12 July to look for him. She was later joined by her sister from Canada. Her other sister from the Philippines is now with her in the city to continue searching for David.

According to New Straits Times, there have been two credible sightings of David. A restaurant operator and a cook in Kota Raya claimed to have seen David dining with four Filipino men while a woman claimed to have encountered him at Ikea Damansara in the first week of July.

Minerva describes her son as book smart and tech savvy but doesn’t have the street smarts.

She said he had taken part in a short-term cybersecurity apprenticeship and was known for his ability to mask his digital presence.

The family found that David stopped attending school from 4 May onwards after he went missing in Malaysia. They checked his bus pass and discovered that he would take the bus to the last stop and return. Minerva suspected he was using the free Wi-Fi and charging ports on the buses.

She’s worried because David was seen in unfamiliar clothes and a different mobile phone in the CCTV recordings the police showed her.

It was clear from the footages he was calm, composed. He knew exactly what he was doing. But the phone he pulled out from his pocket wasn’t the one we gave him. Even the clothes, they weren’t his.
Minerva, David’s mother.

Currently, David’s disappearance is being investigated by the KLIA police. Minerva, through activist Kuan Chee Heng, also known as Uncle Kentang, has urged for help from the public to keep an eye out for her son. She’ll be in Malaysia until 22 September 2025.

Minerva said the family isn’t angry with David and will not force him home but they just want to know he’s safe.

David’s description is as follows: