JOHOR BARU: Five men and a woman have claimed trial to kidnapping a Singaporean man and his girlfriend.
M. Balamurugan, 46; K. Saravanan, 40; G. Puganeswaran, 38; S. Gobinath, 38; Adwin Nicholas Xavier, 41; and P. Sri Devi, 41, pleaded not guilty before Sessions Court judge Nor Aziati Jaafar.
According to the charge sheet, the six kidnapped Singaporean Al-Shameer Abdul Nassar and demanded a ransom of S$20,000 (RM63,000).
They allegedly committed the offence in front of a church in Jalan Orkid 36, Taman Sri Orkid in Skudai here on Aug 8.
The case was handled by deputy public prosecutor R. Nevina, who opposed bail as the offence is non-bailable and serious.
Lawyer K. Veeranesh, who represented Sri Devi, asked for minimum bail as his client is a single mother with six children.
The five other accused, who were not represented, also asked for low bail, saying they have dependant family members.
The judge set bail at RM50,000 in two sureties each.
Meanwhile, all six also pleaded not guilty before magistrate A. Shaarmini to a charge of abducting a Singaporean woman.
According to the charge sheet, the accused had acted together in abducting Zayraella Xie Manting.
They are accused of committing the offence between Aug 8 and Aug 11 at an apartment in Taman Skudai Baru.
Shaarmini set bail at RM10,000 in two sureties each.
Balamurugan, Saravanan and Gobinath also pleaded not guilty before Sessions Court judge Madihah Zainol to a charge of committing gang robbery involving a gold necklace and a Rolex watch belonging to Al-Shameer.
The court allowed bail at RM9,000 in one surety each.
The three courts also set Sept 23 for next mention.
