BUKIT MERTAJAM: Three Myanmar boys aged 11 and 12 pleaded not guilty in the Magistrate’s Court here on Friday (Oct 30) to charges of threatening an elderly woman with several weapons, including an iron rod and stones.
According to Sinar Harian, the trio entered their plea before Magistrate Roshayati Radellah following the alleged incident on Oct 22.
They were jointly charged with committing criminal intimidation by threatening to injure the 71-year-old victim using a mop, an iron rod, a fluorescent light tube, and stones in front of a house along Tingkat Binjai 14, Taman Sri Rambai, around 6 pm.
The charge was framed under Section 506 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34, which carries a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment, a fine, or both upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Zulfadli Hassan requested bail at RM4,000 for each accused, under the condition that a local resident acts as a surety.
He also proposed additional conditions, including surrendering their travel documents, reporting to the nearest police station every two weeks, and ordering the boys and their families to abstain from approaching the victim, who resides in the same neighbourhood.
In pleading for lower bail, National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK) counsel Nur Najihah Ahmad Zulkarnain highlighted the boys' young age and school attendance.
"The fathers of all three accused work as contract workers, earning RM100 a day.
"Meanwhile, the mother of one of the boys works in a factory, while the other two are housewives," she said.
Magistrate Roshayati denied bail and fixed Nov 10 for mention to appoint a Myanmar interpreter to reread the charges, as well as for the submission of documents.
It was previously reported that four Myanmar boys were detained following the incident.
The confrontation reportedly began when the elderly woman scolded a group of children playing noisily at a nearby playground, prompting them to throw stones and an iron rod at her home.
