BALIK PULAU: Four Chinese nationals, including a woman, claimed trial at the Sessions Court here to kidnapping a 72-year-old Singaporean man and demanding S$1mil (RM3.21mil) in ransom.
Liu Ting Jun, 46, Huang Jian, 39, Wang Hao Yu, 32, and Guan Siqi, 24, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to them in Mandarin before Judge Ahzal Fariz Ahmad Khairuddin.
According to the charge sheet, the four allegedly abducted and wrongfully confined Quek Aik Teng at about 4.15pm at Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas on July 26.
The charge was framed under Section 3(1) of the Kidnapping Act 1961, read with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
If convicted, they face between 30 and 40 years’ imprisonment and whipping.
The prosecution urged the court to deny bail, citing the gravity of the offence and public interest.
It also said the accused’s passports were still being verified by the Immigration Department.
However, the accused’s lawyers sought bail, saying their client had fully cooperated with police during detention and had a distant relative working in Malaysia who was willing to act as surety.
One of the lawyers similarly submitted that his three clients were willing to surrender their passports, report periodically to a local police station and comply with any conditions imposed by the court.
Judge Ahzal denied bail to all four accused after hearing submissions from both sides.
The court fixed Oct 15 for document submission.
The arrests followed an Aug 7 police operation to rescue two kidnapping victims at a residence in Taman Amira, Alor Setar.
During the raid, two foreigners were killed in a shootout with police, while six others were detained to assist in investigations.
