By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Aug 5: A 19-year-old woman today withdrew her earlier guilty plea and claimed trial to a charge of extorting her own mother by allegedly fabricating a kidnapping and demanding RM18,000 in ransom.
The revised plea was recorded before Sessions Court Judge Noorhisham Mohd Jaafar, where the accused had initially been scheduled for the submission of a social report prepared by the Social Welfare Department (JKM).
Following the change of plea, the court fixed Aug 12 for further mention to allow the accused time to appoint legal counsel.
She was granted bail of RM10,000 without deposit, with one local surety.
The accused had previously pleaded guilty on July 3 to an offence under Section 387 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of 10 years and may also include whipping upon conviction.
The charge alleges that she intentionally put her 43-year-old mother in fear by falsely claiming that her daughter had been abducted and would be killed unless RM18,000 was paid as ransom.
The alleged offence was said to have taken place at a premises in Taman Perniagaan Setia, Johor Bahru, at about 3.20pm on June 18.
According to the case facts, the accused had been in Johor Bahru since May 27 and allegedly used a newly registered phone number to send WhatsApp messages to her mother, claiming she had been kidnapped and demanding ransom payment.
Believing the messages were genuine, the mother lodged a police report at the Kota Sentosa Police Station.
Police investigations later found that the alleged kidnapping had been staged by the accused herself, allegedly as an attempt to obtain RM18,000 from her mother for personal expenses.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Adriana Maisarah Mohd Farid prosecuted the case, while the accused appeared in court without legal representation. — DayakDaily
