THE 11-year-old who married a 41-year-old Kelantanese rubber trader has been moved to remote area in Gua Musang, Kelantan, according to the New Straits Times, in contrast to an earlier report that she had been taken into the care of Thai authorities.

NST said the rubber trader told the paper that he had moved Ayu, his third wife, to “avoid public scrutiny”.

He said other villagers had been “insulting” the child and her parents on social media and added that some of them called the girl names, while others had snapped pictures of her which they shared on chat groups.

“This is a big test for both of us. (She) now lives far away, deep in the jungle and I have to drive hours to reach (her). (But) I’m still strong,” he said in an interview with NST.

According to him, the girl and her parents are in an “estate hours away by car” from Kota Baru.

“My wife’s happiness and safety is my top priority right now.

“I am willing to travel (to the area) regularly to send food supplies and (pay for) daily expenses as long as she feels that someone loves her,” he was quoted as saying.

A report in The Star, however, reported a social activist saying that Ayu had been sent back to Thailand, where she is from, and was in the care of Social Development and Human Security Ministry in Narathiwat.

The rubber trader, Che Abdul Karim Che Abdul Hamid, and the girl were married at a mosque in Thailand on June 19.

The man, who already has two wives and six children, was subsequently investigated by authorities and last month fined RM1,800 by the Gua Musang Lower Syariah Court for marrying without approval and entering into a polygamous marriage without consent. – August 10, 2018.