BUKIT MERTAJAM: Three Myanmar boys accused of threatening a 71-year-old woman with an iron rod, stones and other objects pleaded not guilty to a charge of criminal intimidation at the Magistrate’s Court here.
The boys, two aged 11 and one aged 12, were denied bail by magistrate Roshayati Radellah.
The boys and their parents broke down in tears in the courtroom after the court rejected their bail application.
The trio initially appeared confused when the charge was read out to them in Bahasa Malaysia, exchanging puzzled looks as they struggled to understand it.
However, they pleaded not guilty when the charge was read out a second time.
Their parents had been instructed by the court to accompany them during the proceedings.
The court fixed Nov 10 for mention of the case, pending the submission of documents and arrangements for a Myanmar interpreter to read the charge to the boys again.
The three were jointly charged with criminally intimidating the woman by threatening to harm her with several objects, including a mop, an iron rod, a long fluorescent light tube and stones.
The alleged offence took place in front of a house at Tingkat Binjai Empat Belas, Taman Sri Rambai, here, at about 6pm on Oct 22.
The charge, under Section 506 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same Act, carries a maximum jail term of two years, a fine or both upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Zulfadzli Hassan proposed bail of RM4,000 for each accused, with one local surety, and the surrender of their travel documents.
He also sought additional conditions requiring the boys to report to a nearby police station every fortnight and prohibiting them and their families from contacting or disturbing the victim.
“The court should consider that the alleged offence involved criminal intimidation against an elderly woman who was also their neighbour,” he said.
National Legal Aid Foundation lawyer Nur Najihah Ahmad Zulkarnain, representing the boys, appealed for bail, citing their young ages and family circumstances.
She said the first two accused were still attending school, while the third was not enrolled.
The mothers of the first two boys were housewives, while their fathers worked as contract labourers earning RM100 a day.
The third boy’s mother worked in a factory, while his father was also a contract worker earning RM100 a day.
