The 7 male defendants were allowed to be released on bail of RM16,000 and one guarantor, while the female defendant in the case was allowed to be released on bail of RM14,000.
The 8 defendants aged between 19 and 25 were escorted by a large number of police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) police this morning and were brought to the Johor Bahru Third Magistrate's Court to face charges.
The seven male defendants are Mohammad Azimah (25 years old), Ahmad Rusidi (23 years old), Mohammad Nur Shafi (25 years old), Mohammad Haika (19 years old), Mohammad Amiru (23 years old), Mohammad Danis (20 years old) and Shamsul Hamid (19 years old). They face a total of four charges, namely illegal detention, extortion, intentional wounding and criminal intimidation.
As for the only female defendant in the case, Nurul Liyana (21 years old), the internet celebrity known as "Bella", faces the remaining three charges except intentional wounding.
The first charge stated that the eight defendants jointly made death threats to the 22-year-old victim Mohammad Faris and used this method to intimidate him.
The second charge alleges that the eight accused and two other suspects who are still at large conspired to extort the victim, threatening to "continue to beat him up if he does not pay RM3,000", forcing the victim to transfer RM650 to the accused, Mohammad Amiru, through an e-wallet and hand over the keys of a Yamaha Y16 motorcycle.
The third charge alleges that the eight accused and two suspects at large illegally imprisoned the victim.
In addition, the seven male defendants also face the fourth charge, which is to beat the victim together and cause him injuries.
The above crimes were committed in a HDB unit in Permas Jaya between 10pm on the 18th and 4am on the 19th of this month.
The prosecutors respectively cited Section 506 (criminal intimidation), Section 384 (extortion), Section 342 (illegal confinement) and Section 323 (intentional wounding) of the Penal Code. If convicted, they may be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years' imprisonment, a fine or both.
The case was jointly prosecuted by Johor Attorney General Abdul Jafar, Nik Nuralaini and Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Fati.
The eight defendants were represented by National Legal Aid Foundation lawyers Nor Farahim and T. Nadarajan.
The chief prosecutor suggested to the court that the bail be RM10,000 for each charge, which means that each of the seven male defendants must pay a total of RM40,000 bail; Bella was only facing three charges and was required to pay RM30,000 and a guarantor for bail.
The defendant's lawyer pleaded for leniency, hoping that the magistrate would consider the eight defendants' guilty plea and their financial situation and reduce the bail amount.
The lawyer pointed out that three of them, including Bella, are currently unemployed, and Bella suffers from asthma. The other five are factory workers with monthly salaries ranging from RM1,200 to RM2,000.
Magistrate Atifah ruled that the bail for each of the seven male defendants was RM16,000, and that for Bella was RM14,000, all of whom must be released on bail with one surety.
In addition, the court will hear the case report and make a judgment on June 3.
News background:
According to earlier reports, 22-year-old Mohammad Faris met the female internet celebrity "Bella" on social media. When he met her at a unit in Permas Jaya at around 9:30 pm last Friday (18th), he was suddenly blackmailed by a group of men.
Because he did not pay enough, he was beaten and kicked by the group of men until he fell to the ground with serious injuries.
At the time of the incident, someone was filming it with a mobile phone. After the relevant video was widely circulated, the police quickly arrested 7 men and a woman to assist in the investigation.
No comments:
Post a Comment