KLANG: Five men have pleaded not guilty to robbing a 54-year-old businessman of religious statues worth RM74,000.
The men made their plea before Sessions Court Judge Sharifah Hascindie Syed Omar.
M. Linggeshwaran,23, P.S Tamil Kumaran,38, G. Siva,33, R. Thamilarasan,33 and S. Nagen,28, are accused of committing armed gang robbery at 6.16am at a house in Jalan Jagong, Pandamaran on Oct 3.
The charges under Sections 395 and 397 of the Penal Code for gang robbery and causing hurt with a knife in a robbery.
If found guilty, they can be imprisoned for up to 20 years and whipped.
Deputy public prosecutor Annur Athirah Amran did not offer bail as the offence was non-bailable.
In mitigation, the accused's lawyers asked the court to offer bail as their clients were innocent until proven guilty.
Lawyer Reenajit Kaur Golen, who stood for Linggeshwaran, said her unemployed client, should be allowed bail to care for his sickly mother, 55.
Lawyer SK Loges Kesavan, who acted for Tamil Kumaran and Nagen, said bail should not be excessive as his clients have promised to cooperate with the police and not abscond.
She said Tamil Kumaran, who is blind in one eye, is a lorry attendant. She also said his wife is unemployed and is suffering from stage 4 stomach cancer.
"Moreover, Deepavali celebrations are nearing and he needs to be with his family," she said.
Loges said Nagen, the sole breadwinner for his family, is a p-hailing rider who does not earn a fixed income.
Lawyer Mohamad Fauzi Abdul Samad, who appeared for Siva and Thamilarasan, said the court should grant bail as the charge does not provide the death penalty or lifetime jail sentence.
He said the bail would enable him to prepare his clients' defence and alibi documents.
Fauzi said Siva, a security guard, is married and has 13-year-old child. He is also supporting his siblings and father on a RM2,000 monthly salary.
As for Thamilarasan, Fauzi said the lorry attendant supports his sickly parents on a RM1,500 monthly salary.
After hearing the mitigation, Annur Athirah objected to the lawyers' bail application.
"However, if the court wishes to grant them bail, it should be set at RM50,000 with one surety for each of the accused with additional conditions that they must report to the police station and not harass prosecution witnesses," she said.
The judge set bail at RM10,000 with one surety for each accused. They are not to harass any witnesses and are required to report to the nearest police station on the 1st of each month.
Jan 8 next year was set for mention.