A tiger cub that was rescued from a Chinese restaurant's cooking pot has now gone missing from a zoo in Malacca and officials believe it may have been stolen.

"The tiger cub has been missing since late yesterday. We conducted an extensive search in the zoo and surroundings areas but we have been unsuccessful," said Mohamad Nawayai, zoo director.

"I tend to believe now that the tiger cub has been stolen."

The cub was originally rescued by SH Foo, Malaysia's Trade Commissioner to Papua New Guinea.

He heard from friends that the three-month-old cub had been caught by villagers in Pahang and taken to the restaurant.

He offered to buy the tiger from the restaurant and had it delivered to his home before handing it over to the wildlife department.

Foo declined to say how much he paid but the Star newspaper said it was believed to be more than RM10,000.

Illegal to keep tiger

Nawayai said the tiger cub named Nicky was in good health and appealed to anyone who may have taken it to return the animal to the zoo.

"It is illegal to keep a tiger. You can be fined and jailed if you are caught keeping a tiger," he said.

Zoo officials will lodge a police report tomorrow.

"I feel very bad. I suspect some negligence on our part contributed to this unfortunate incident," Nawayai said.