Plentong: Eight individuals, including a woman known as 'Bella' who gained notoriety on social media, have altered their pleas from guilty to not guilty at the Magistrate's Court on charges of criminal intimidation, extortion, and wrongful confinement of a man in a house in Plentong last April.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the individuals identified as Muhammad Aqmal Hafifi Mustafa Kamal, 25; Ahmad Rushdi Jumadi, 23; Muhammad Nur Shafiq Abdullah, 25; Muhammad Haikal Zulkarnain, 19; Mohamad Amierul Hakim Shamsuri, 23; Mohamad Danish Hakim Kamaruddin, 20; Syamsul Hamiziey Saiful Razali, 19; and Nuredrianna Balqqisyh Anabella Norazman, 22, changed their pleas after facing the charges anew before Magistrate A Shaarmini.
Initially, on April 25, the group had pleaded guilty before Magistrate Atifah Hazimah Wahab to the three charges. The first charge involved criminal intimidation by issuing death threats against Muhammad Faris Syahmi Mohd Ridzwan, 22. The second charge included extortion, where they allegedly threatened to continue assaulting the victim until he paid RM3,000.
Further allegations stated that the group extorted Muhammad Faris Syahmi by persistently assaulting him and refusing his release, which led the victim to transfer RM650 via an e-wallet and hand over a Yamaha Y16 motorcycle key to Mohamad Amierul Hakim. The third charge accused them of wrongfully confining the victim.
In separate proceedings, the seven men also pleaded not guilty to a fourth charge of voluntarily causing harm to the victim, alongside an accomplice who remains at large. These incidents allegedly occurred in a flat in Plentong, Masai, between 10 pm and 4 am, from April 18 to 19.
The charges are framed under Sections 506, 384, 342, and 323 of the Penal Code, with penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment, fines, or both, upon conviction. Legal representation was present for most accused, with Syamsul Hamiziey represented by counsel Nurul Nadia Yunos, Mohamad Amierul Hakim by T Haressh, while Muhammad Aqmal Hafifi and Ahmad Rushdi Jumadi were represented by Khairulazwad Sariman and Syahmi Nawawi, respectively.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Nik Noratini Nik Azman and Nur Fatihah Mohd Nizam led the prosecution. The court scheduled July 17 for the next mention of the case, allowing time for the submission of documents and for unrepresented accused to appoint counsel.