Six Charged With Kidnapping Singaporean Man, Demanding RM63,000 Ransom

JOHOR BAHRU: Six individuals, including a woman, were produced before the Sessions Court here today on charges of kidnapping a Singaporean man and demanding a ransom of RM63,000 earlier this month.

However, all the accused, namely M Balamurugam, 46; K Saravanan, 40; P Sri Devi, 41; G Puganeswaran, 38; S Gobinath, 38; and X Adwin Nicholas, 41, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out before Judge Nor Aziati Jaafar.

According to the charge, they were accused with common intention of kidnapping Al-Shameer Abdul Nassar to demand a ransom of S$20,000 (RM63,000) in front of a church at Jalan Orkid, Skudai, here, at approximately 2 pm, August 8.

All of them were charged under Section 3 of the Kidnapping Act 1961 and read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which upon conviction carries imprisonment of up to 40 years and whipping.

Lawyer K Veeranesh, representing Sri Devi, requested the court to allow his client to be released on bail on the grounds that the accused has six children aged between one and 22 years and is unemployed.

Meanwhile, the other accused, who were not represented by lawyers, also applied to be allowed bail on the grounds of having dependents, including children and family.

At the Magistrate’s Court here, all the accused pleaded not guilty before Magistrate A Shaarmini to a charge of jointly abducting a Singaporean woman with the intention of causing the victim to be secretly and wrongfully confined.

All of them were charged with committing the act at an apartment at Jalan Aman, Skudai, here, and several locations around this city, at approximately 6.30 pm, August 11.

All of them were charged under Section 365 of the Penal Code and read together with Section 34 of the same code, which upon conviction carries imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine.

In a separate Sessions Court chamber, Balamurugam, Saravanan and Gobinath also pleaded not guilty before Judge Madihah Zainol to a charge of gang robbery of property, namely a gold necklace and a Rolex watch belonging to the same victim, in a car around North Johor Bahru here at approximately 2 pm on August 8.

They were charged under Section 395 of the Penal Code which provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years and whipping.

The court allowed Sri Devi, Adwin Nicholas and Puganeswaran to be released on bail of RM60,000 each, while Balamurugam, Saravanan and Gobinath were allowed bail of RM69,000 each with a local surety, in addition to additional conditions of not interfering with the victims and prosecution witnesses, reporting to the nearest police station once a month and surrendering their international passports to the court if any.

The court set September 23 for case mention and lawyer appointment.

Meanwhile, at a separate Magistrate’s Court, Magistrate Nurzihan Abdul Rehman imposed a fine of RM3,000 each on Saravanan and Puganeswaran after they pleaded guilty to causing hurt to the male victim using a knife.

They were charged with committing the act at an apartment in Taman Skudai Baru, Skudai, between 10 am and 1 pm, August 11.

The charge was framed under Section 324 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same code, which upon conviction carries imprisonment of up to 10 years or a fine or whipping.

The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutors, Nor Deana Aqilah Aliman, R Nevina and Eizlan Azhar.

Berita Harian