While the manhunt continues for Ayah Pin, the elusive leader of the Sky Kingdom commune, a family of five toddlers and teenagers decided to stay put in what is now a ghost village.

Met late yesterday evening at Kampung Batu 13, a deserted commune following a pre-dawn attack Monday and a crackdown by religious authorities Wednesday, one of the children said they had nowhere else to go.

The boy, who kept shying away from a press photographer, said the village is the only home known to them.

"We've grown up in this place since our parents moved here years ago. The villagers are the only people we trust but they are all in the lock-up now, including our mother," he said.

He claimed their father had been away during the entire episode but expected him to return soon.

The boy said a small group of remaining adults had left the village in the morning after being told to leave.

"But we decided to stay. This is our home," he said, adding that they had relatives in Kelantan whom they have never visited in years.

Two toddlers were prancing around in the wooden stilt-house while one of the older boys was preparing tea.

The boy said they had cooked rice and fried eggs for lunch.

Only dry biscuits

About 30 children were placed under the care of the Welfare Department following the arrest of the adults Wednesday and their subsequent detention until their case is heard on July 28.

Several Terengganu Islamic Affairs Department (JHEAT) officers were on the scene questioning the children as to their presence in the now-vacant village.

However, the JHEAT officers were surprised when the children told them that they were given dry biscuits last night.

"We were informed that the Welfare Department would bring food for the children who were still in the village yesterday.

"But we are told that these children only got dry biscuits for dinner. We are concerned about them and don't want them living without adult supervision," the officers said.

"We will check with the department because there appears to be some mis-communication."

Most of those who escaped detention, including the children, were wary of the media and strangers and preferred to remain unidentified, ignore the questions or respond only briefly.

Told to leave

A few of Ayah Pin's followers had returned to the village to collect personal items requested by those who were detained at the Besut and Jerteh police lock-ups.

One of them who declined to be named said she got a phone call early in the morning saying the police wanted them to vacate the village immediately.

"I didn't know who he was or where he was calling from. He gave us 10 minutes to leave so I informed everyone and we left," she said.

"We were already scared and felt really vulnerable, especially after the police personnel left the area following the JHEAT raid. We were left to fend for themselves.

"What if the same people attacked us again? There would be no one to protect us and things could be worse this time around."

Some houses were not locked and most had clothes still hanging outside to dry. Durians were slowly rotting on the table at one of the commune's coffee-shops.

Flocks of chicken and ducks were roaming behind the villagers' wooden houses while pet birds appeared restless in their cages.

However, the eerie silence enveloping the village did not last long.

By 11am, the commune had taken on an almost touristy atmosphere with strangers making a beeline to see and touch the structures, admiring the workmanship and quality material used.

Curious tourists

Scores of curious locals drove right into the village and walked around the unguarded compound, venturing into the giant structures and posing for photographs at various vantage points despite the visible physical damage.

While adults peeked through shattered panes, the young ones were skidding over broken glass, jumping over toppled flower pots and hopping into the main hall through razor-sharp half-inch-thick glass jutting from the frames.

Visitors were excitedly touching the giant kettle and the round-house whose walls were still adorned with Ayah Pin's photos and belongings, including several thick hard-covers of the Koran.

One man had no qualms tearing away the yellow "police caution" ribbon that marked the area around the umbrella-like tower as a crime scene and thus off-limits to the public.

When asked about the safety of villagers' common as well as private belongings in some of the unlocked houses, a JHEAT acknowledged the risk and drove off to notify police personnel stationed at a nearby roadblock.

Contacted, Besut district deputy police chief Mohd Zaini Mat Yusof said there was nothing to worry about as some of the villagers were still there.

When told that the commune had been deserted except for the five children, he promised to look into the matter but declined to say if police will be stationed at the village.

Until late evening, more cars were heading up to the village, undaunted by the intermittent downpour since morning.