PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The father of a kidnapped Malaysian boy has bought a print advertisement to clear the name of the taxi driver who reunited him with his family.

In a notice posted in a Malay daily, the boy's father Lee Kim Wen, 31, said that he and his family were confident that cab driver Hanizan Mohamed Radzi, 41, was not involved in the kidnapping of his son.

The father of the boy also thanked him and said that he was very grateful to Mr Hanizan for safely bringing his son home.

However, he also expressed regret that Mr Hanizan's and his family's lives had been affected.

The father stressed that Mr Hanizan had acted nobly and that he sincerely hoped his support would bring justice to him and his family.

He also stated that he wanted to ensure that Mr Hanizan's reputation was not tarnished by the incident.

On Oct 9, the boy was kidnapped outside of his kindergarden in Sungai Chua, Kajang, which was was captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV).

The boy was returned to his family by Mr Hanizan eight hours later.

Mr Hanizan was arrested along with three other men over the kidnapping.

The police later cleared him of kidnapping, saying that they found no link between the alleged kidnappers and Mr Hanizan.

However, he is set to appear in court as a key witness in the case.

Three other men have been charged under Section 3(1) of the Kidnapping Act 1961 for abduction, wrongful restraint or wrongful confinement for ransom.

Mr Hanizan had earlier said he had found the boy wandering on a roadside and recognised him from images on social media.