JOHOR BARU: Eight people have pleaded guilty in a Magistrate’s Court here to charges of unlawful confinement, criminal intimidation, extortion, and voluntarily causing hurt to a 22-year-old man at an apartment in Masai last week.
Muhammad Aqmal Hafifi Mustafa Kamal, 25; Ahmad Rushdi Jumadi, 23; Muhammad Nur Shafiq Abdullah, 25; Muhammad Haikal Zulkarnain, 19; Mohamad Amierul Hakim Shamsuri, 23; Mohamad Danish Hakim Kamaruddin, 20; Syamsul Hamiziey Saiful Razali, 19; and Nuredrianna Balqqisyh Anabella Norazman, 22; entered their pleas after the charges were read out before Magistrate Atifah Hazimah Wahab on Friday (April 25).
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According to the charge sheets, the group, along with two others still at large, wrongfully confined Muhammad Faris Syahmi Mohd Ridzwan in a flat at Block J, Jalan Bunga Daisi in Plentong, between 10pm on April 18 and 4am the following day.
They were also charged with criminal intimidation by threatening him with death; extorting him of RM650 in cash and the keys to his motorcycle; as well as using physical violence and threats to force him into agreeing to pay RM3,000.
The court also heard that all the accused, except Nuredrianna, caused physical injuries to the victim during the incident.
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They were charged under Sections 342, 506, 384 and 323 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 for common intention.
The charges carry up to 14 years’ imprisonment for the most serious offence, in addition to fines or caning, upon conviction.
The prosecution was led by Johor prosecution director Abdul Ghafar Abdul Latif, while all eight accused were represented by National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK) counsel T. Nadarajan and Norfarahin Mohd Yazid.
During the proceedings, Ghafar proposed that bail be set at RM10,000 for each charge.
“This means that each male accused would require a total bail of RM40,000, while Nuredrianna’s bail would amount to RM30,000,” he said.
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In mitigation, Norfarahin told the court that three of the accused were unemployed while the others earned between RM1,200 and RM2,000 per month.
“Nuredrianna also suffers from asthma,” she added.
The court set bail at RM16,000 for each man with one surety, while Nuredrianna was granted bail of RM14,000 with one surety.
Next mention of the case has been fixed for June 3.
Earlier, eight suspects involved in a viral video showing a man being assaulted at an apartment in Masai were arrested at 2.30am on Monday (April 21) at an apartment in Plentong Baru.
Seri Alam OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Sohaimi Ishak was previously quoted as saying that the suspects, seven men and a woman aged 19 to 26, were arrested after police detected the 2min, 7sec video that went viral.
“The video was uploaded on Facebook, and police received a report from the local male victim, who claimed the incident occurred at about 9.30pm on April 18 at an apartment in Plentong Baru, Masai,” he said.
