More proactive steps such as counselling will be offered by the Home Ministry to parents of drug addicts to ensure the latter do not return to their addiction upon release from rehabilitation centres.

"My ministry will finance the bridging cost to counsel the parents, who do not know how to handle the situation when their addicted children are released from rehabilitation," said Deputy Minister Wira Abu Samat Yusop.

His statement came following his visit to a brutal murder scene in Kampung Seri Kinta, Ipoh here yesterday. A 26-year-old addict stabbed and slashed to death 42-year-old Wah Yah Matzi, her five-year-old child Ermin Denish Jafri, and their 18-year-old maid named Dani, while attempting to rob the house. The suspect escaped with a laptop on a motorcycle but was caught by a family friend. The remains of the victims were buried this morning.

The suspect has been remanded until May 27 and would be investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

Wira added that rehabilitated children need love, attention, and the moral support of the parents to change their old habits. However, parents are at a lost on how best to handle their drug addicted children, he said. As a result, their children return to the vicious cycle of drug addiction.

Another move that the police will carry out is to beef-up police personnel at financial institutions to reduce the rise of thefts and robberies that are taking place around such entities.