SIX Malaysians, including a woman, have been charged with multiple offences including kidnapping, unlawful confinement, robbery and causing hurt involving a Singaporean couple in Johor earlier this month.
The accused — M Balamurugam, 46; K Saravanan, 40; P Sri Devi, 41; G Puganeswaran, 38; S Gobinath, 38; and X Adwin Nicholas, 41 — pleaded not guilty to the charges before the Johor Bahru Sessions and Magistrates’ Courts on Friday.
In the first charge, all six are accused of jointly kidnapping Al-Shameer B Abdul Nassar with the intention of demanding S$20,000 (RM63,000) in ransom.
The offence was allegedly committed at about 2pm on Aug 8 outside a church at No. 22, Jalan Orkid, Skudai.
The charge was brought under Section 3 of the Kidnapping Act 1961, read with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum prison term of 40 years and whipping upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor R Nevina did not offer bail, citing the seriousness of the offence and the fact that it is non-bailable.
However, lawyer K Veeranesh, representing Sri Devi, appealed for bail, saying his client was unemployed and had six children aged between one and 22.
The court subsequently granted bail of RM50,000 for each accused, with two sureties, and imposed conditions barring them from contacting or interfering with the victims and prosecution witnesses.
They were also ordered to report to a nearby police station once a month and surrender their international passports to the court, if they had them.
In a separate proceeding before Sessions Court Judge Madihah Zainol, Balamurugam, Saravanan and Gobinath also pleaded not guilty to a charge of gang robbery involving a gold necklace and a Rolex watch belonging to the same victim.
The robbery was allegedly committed in a vehicle in the Johor Bahru Utara area at about 2pm on Aug 8.
The charge under Section 395 of the Penal Code carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
Although the prosecution did not offer bail as the offence is non-bailable, the court allowed each accused bail of RM9,000.
Meanwhile, before Magistrate A Shaarmini, all six accused pleaded not guilty to a charge of abducting Singaporean woman Zaylen Zayraelle Xie Manting with the intention of secretly and wrongfully confining her.
The alleged offence took place at Block C-03-06, Skudai Villa Apartments, Jalan Aman, Taman Skudai Baru, and several other locations between Aug 8 and Aug 11.
The were charged under Section 365 of the Penal Code, read with Section 34, which provides for a maximum seven-year prison term and a fine upon conviction.
The court granted bail of RM10,000 with two sureties and ordered Sri Devi, Gobinath and Saravanan to surrender their passports.
In another proceeding before Magistrate Nurzihan Abdul Rehman, Saravanan and Puganeswaran pleaded guilty to causing hurt to Al-Shameer Abdul Nassar with a knife at the same apartment between 10am and 1pm on Aug 11.
They were each fined RM3,000 under Section 324 of the Penal Code, read with Section 34.
The court ordered both men to serve six months in prison if they failed to pay the fines.
Section 324 carries a maximum 10-year prison term, a fine or whipping, or any two of those punishments.
The court fixed Sept 23 for mention of the cases. - August 21, 2026
