JOHOR BARU: A 57-year-old woman is expected to be charged at the Sessions Court here with the kidnapping of a Johor developer for RM20mil.
The woman is believed to be a family member of the 59-year-old victim.
ALSO READ: Businessman, two Vietnamese nationals charged with kidnapping property developer
Johor police chief Comm Datuk M. Kumar said the woman is expected to be charged on Sunday (Nov 10) under Section 3(1) of the Kidnapping Act 1961.
“The charge, read with Section 109 of the Penal Code, is for colluding with three others to kidnap the victim.
“The offence is punishable with a jail term of 30 to 40 years and caning,” he said in a statement.
On Nov 4, Chong Shih Ming, a 46-year-old businessman, pleaded not guilty after he was charged at the Sessions Court here to kidnapping the victim with Vietnamese nationals Luong Van Tung, 39, and Tran Van Chung, 29, with the purpose of obtaining a ransom of RM20mil.
They allegedly committed the offence with another suspect - who is still at large - at about 5am on Oct 13.
ALSO READ: Cops recover RM7mil of kidnapped businessman's ransom in Johor case
Separately, Vietnamese Nguyen Ngoc Ngan claimed trial when she was charged at a Magistrate’s Court here on Nov 4 with the disposal of a Japanese sedan car, which was used in the same kidnapping case, at Jalan Keembong 39, Taman Johor Jaya here.
The 36-year-old woman allegedly disposed of the vehicle at around 3.30pm on Oct 24 to protect Chong from getting into trouble with the law. She was charged under Section 201 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to three years and a fine.
Also on Nov 4, two men - Tan Kuan Wei, 43, and Siow Book Pin, 38 - pleaded not guilty at the Kota Tinggi Magistrate's Court with disposing of a gun that was used in the kidnap of the developer.
They allegedly disposed of an Italian-made pistol, 250 live rounds, a pair of handcuffs and a pair of keys at Farm Vacay Jalan Johor River in Kota Tinggi at around 4.15pm on Oct 26.
The duo were accused of disposing of the items to protect Chong.
According to previous news reports, the victim was scheduled to go on a business trip when the incident occurred.
The kidnappers demanded a RM30mil ransom, and after negotiating, it was reduced to RM20mil.
Police arrested a total of 14 suspects; ten locals, including a local woman who is the victim’s relative, and three Vietnamese - two men and one woman.
Police also recovered more than RM7mil of the RM20mil ransom that was paid to the group of kidnappers.
