Auxiliary cop, six others face death for abducting company manager
SHAH ALAM: Seven men, including an auxiliary policeman, are facing the death sentence after they were charged with abducting a transport company manager for ransom last year.
The auxiliary policeman, S.R. Jevan, 42, along with S. Surendran, 35; S. Mohan, 33; S. Prakhas, 34; A.K. Muniandy, 60; P. Uthaya Kumar, 25; and, Bangladesh national Barique, 37, nodded to indicate they understood the charge after it was read to them before magistrate Raja Noor Adilla Raja Mahyaldin.
The seven, along with another person still at large, were accused of kidnapping P. Pratap, 35, for a ransom of RM300,000.
They were accused of committing the offence in Jalan 1B/8, Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh, at 9.10pm on Dec 12.
The offence, under Section 3 of the Kidnapping Act 1961, carries the death sentence or life imprisonment.
Deputy public prosecutor Megat Mahathir Megat Tharih Afendi prosecuted. Lawyer Dennis Pereira represented Jevan; S.S. Ruben and P. Prakasam appeared on behalf of Muniandy, while K. Lavinia represented Mohan. The other four accused were not represented.
The magistrate fixed March 13 for case mention.
It was reported that an auxiliary policeman was the mastermind behind the kidnapping of the company manager, and suspects believed to be involved in the case were rounded up following raids in Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Perak and Kuala Lumpur over the last four weeks.
Selangor police chief Commissioner Datuk Mazlan Mansor was quoted as saying that the victim was abducted in Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh and released in Bemban, Melaka, on Jan 3 after a ransom was paid.
He was reported to have said that the auxiliary cop was attached to an agency in Putrajaya and the suspects knew each other.
He said the suspects could be described as hardcore criminals as they were involved in six money changer robbery cases in Klang Valley.
He said investigations also revealed that the mastermind and his gang members were involved in a murder and another kidnapping case last year.