Four Chinese nationals claim trial over kidnapping of Singaporean man in Penang

BALIK PULAU – Four Chinese nationals, including a woman, claimed trial at the Sessions Court in Penang on Sept 10 to charges of kidnapping a Singaporean man.The accused – Liu Ting Jun, 46, Huang Jin, 39, Wang Hao Yu, 32, and Guan Siqi, 24 – pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to them in Mandarin before Sessions Court Judge Ahzal Fariz Ahmad Khairuddin.According to the charge sheet, the four are alleged to have acted jointly to abduct and wrongfully confine the 72-year-old Singaporean at Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas at around 4.15pm on July 26.They were charged under Section 3(1) of the Kidnapping Act, read alongside Section 34 of the Penal Code. If convicted, the offence carries a term of imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years, as well as whipping.Deputy Public Prosecutor Ikmal Affendi Zulkifly prosecuted, while lawyer Edward Ng represented Liu. Counsel Azizul Hilmi Zulkifli appeared for Guan, Huang and Wang.Ikmal strongly urged the court to withhold bail, emphasising the gravity of the offence and the overriding public interest. He added that the suspects’ passports were still being verified with the Immigration Department.Pleading for bail, Ng argued that his client had fully cooperated with the police during detention and had a distant relative residing and working in Malaysia who was willing to act as surety.Similarly, Azizul submitted that his three clients were willing to surrender their passports, report periodically to a local police station and abide by any strict conditions imposed by the court.Judge Ahzal denied all four bail applications after hearing arguments from both sides. The court fixed Oct 15 for document submission.The arrests follow an Aug 7 police operation to rescue two kidnapping victims at a residence in Taman Amira, Alor Setar. Two foreign suspects were killed in a shoot-out with the police during the raid, while six others were subsequently detained to assist in ongoing investigations. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK