Court upholds life sentence on man who kidnapped 3 Bangladeshis for ransom
Published on: Thursday, July 13, 2023
By: FMT
A three-member Court of Appeal panel says there is no reason to disturb the findings of the High Court.
PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has upheld a life imprisonment sentence meted out to an unemployed man for kidnapping three Bangladeshi nationals for ransom nine years ago.
The court also ordered Suhaimi Alias to be whipped 10 times.
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Suhaimi and two others – Raja Hafiz Raja Shuib and foreigner Nobi Hussein – were jointly charged with kidnapping the three men for a RM50,000 ransom at a minimarket on Jalan Meru in Klang on March 16, 2014.
However, Raja Hafiz died in the course of the trial, and the charge against him was withdrawn.
The High Court went on to convict both Suhaimi and Nobi, who were ordered to be imprisoned for life and whipped 10 times.
According to the facts of the case, the trio had impersonated police officers and entered the minimarket where the three Bangladeshis were.
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They asked the three victims to produce their passports and took them to another location.
One of the victims, identified as Gholam, testified at the trial that he and his fellow countrymen were taken to a hotel room.
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The court also heard that Gholam’s son received phone calls, demanding payment of RM50,000 in exchange for his release. Gholam’s son deposited a total of RM8,000 to two bank accounts given to him by the caller.
Police raided the hotel room and found all three tied up and blindfolded.
Dismissing Suhaimi’s appeal, Justice NP Ravinthran said there was no reason to disturb the findings by the High Court.
“There was overwhelming evidence in respect of the common intention of all the three accused persons to abduct the victims.
“They had impersonated police officers to bring them to a hotel room. The victims were blindfolded and confined in the room. This is a criminal act,” he said in his grounds of judgment.
The other judges who heard Suhaimi’s appeal were Justices Hanipah Farikullah and Nordin Hassan.
The court also said the order for Suhaimi to receive 10 strokes of the rotan was justified.
Ravinthran said Suhaimi and his accomplices had targeted vulnerable individuals, abducted them and demanded ransom from their families.
“Two of the victims were badly beaten up as the raiding officer told the court that they were immediately sent to the hospital after being rescued.
“In the premises, interference with the sentence of the High Court is not warranted in all the circumstances of the case,” Ravinthran said.
He said as the High Court did not impose the death sentence against Suhaimi under the Kidnapping Act, the only other option available to the court was to impose life imprisonment.
The appeals court will hear Nobi’s appeal on July 26.
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