JOHOR BARU: A male student from China who was charged with kidnapping a teenage girl last year has been released on RM8,000 bail with two sureties.
Magistrate A. Shaarmini granted bail to 23-year-old accused Huang Xiaonan after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence, Sinar Harian reported on Wednesday (Jan 22).
“The accused must also report to the nearest police station once a month,” Shaarmini ordered, as quoted by the daily.
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Lawyers Kamal Hisham Jaafar and Muhammad Nor Tamrin applied for bail during Wednesday's proceeding under Section 388 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Muhammad Nor stated that the section gave the court discretionary powers to grant bail for offences that are typically non-bailable.
He said there were exceptional circumstances justifying his client’s temporary release on bail.
Apart from requiring access to medical care, the accused also needed to attend his lessons, the lawyer added.
“The (judiciary) has exercised discretionary power to grant bail in cases where it is ordinarily not allowed, such as those involving alleged kidnapping,” he said.
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The prosecution, however, objected to the application, maintaining its stance that no bail should be granted to the accused.
On Dec 5, Huang – a student at a university in Singapore – was charged with kidnapping the teenage girl, also a Chinese national, with intent to confine her secretly.
The offence was allegedly committed at a hotel on Jalan Station in Johor Baru at 4.09pm on Nov 24.
Huang was charged under Section 365 of the Penal Code, which carries a prison sentence of up to seven years and a fine upon conviction.
In the initial proceedings, Magistrate R. Salini denied bail for the accused and fixed Jan 27 for case mention.
