KLANG: Four friends who kidnapped a 12-year-old girl and held her in a house for four days last month were each sentenced to three years' imprisonment by the magistrate's court today.
Magistrate Siti Zubaidah Mahat handed down the sentence to Alyaa Zahwa Salim and Putri Nurul Suhaila Abdullah, both 18, Muhammad Asran Ghazalie, 23, and Muhammad Adha Abdullah, 20, after they pleaded guilty.
She ordered them to serve the sentence from their arrest on Oct 12.
The four were charged with jointly kidnapping the girl from her legal guardian at 3pm in Bandar Bukit Tinggi here on Oct 8.
The charge under Section 363 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34, carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison and a fine upon conviction.
The court heard that on Oct 8 at 2.20pm, the girl's mother had asked her to retrieve instant noodles from their car. When she failed to return by 3pm, her mother began a search and filed a missing person's report. Attempts to call the girl's phone went unanswered, as it had been switched off.
The group reportedly drove the girl to a house in Segambut in a rented Perodua Myvi and held her there for four days before sending her home in an e-hailing vehicle on Oct 12.
In mitigation, National Legal Aid Foundation lawyer Muhamad Saifullah Muhamad Azmi requested good behaviour bonds for Alyaa, Putri Nurul and Adha, citing their age and status as first-time offenders.
He said Alyaa and Putri Nurul each earned RM2,000 per month as masseuses, while Adha earned RM1,800 at a vape shop, and Asran was unemployed..
"Three of them come from broken homes and do not live with their families. Only Adha's parents are still married," he said.
"I was told that the incident stemmed from a misunderstanding between them and the victim's brother.
"Their intention was to meet the brother, and they admitted to bringing the girl to a house where they kept her while waiting for him to arrive.
"They apologised to the court and they are repentant and aware of the gravity of their actions."
He requested the court to impose a short jail term for the four, starting from their arrest.
"I hope the court considers their young age, and that was why they resorted to such actions. I believe they were immature to think rationally."
Deputy public prosecutor Nuruljannah Aimi objected to the bond application and asked the court to hand down a heavy penalty on the four as they had committed a serious crime.
"The victim is 12 years old. They kidnapped her for four days and caused injuries to her, according to a medical report," Nuruljannah said.
"I ask the court to consider her parents' feelings, who were distraught when she went missing.
"The factor of immaturity should not be considered as the accused are aged 18 and in their 20s."
State police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan previously said the girl was believed to have been molested and was almost sold to a prostitution syndicate in the Chow Kit area in Kuala Lumpur.
On Oct 8, the girl was believed to have been kidnapped near her home after she was seen getting into a black Perodua Myvi.