JOHOR BARU, Dec 5 — A 22-year-old Chinese university student pleaded not guilty in the Magistrate’s Court here today to a charge of kidnapping a teenage girl last month.
The accused, identified as Huang Xiaonan, entered his plea before Magistrate R. Salini after the charge was read to him in Mandarin.
According to the charge, Huang, a student at a university in Singapore, is accused of kidnapping the teenager with the intent of confining her in secret.
The alleged offence was said to have occurred at a hotel in Jalan Station here at 4.08 pm on November 24.
Huang faces a charge under Section 365 of the Penal Code for kidnapping or abduction, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment and a fine upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Ameerah Allauddeen led the prosecution, while counsel Goh Pok Gek represented the accused.
The court denied bail for Huang and fixed January 27 for case re-mention.
On November 27, Johor police chief M. Kumar said the police successfully rescued a 15-year-old girl within 24 hours after she was abducted by a man in Singapore and brought to Kuantan, Pahang.
The day before, the victim’s father, who is also a Chinese national, lodged a report stating that his daughter had failed to attend her school classes in Singapore and was believed to have been abducted.
Initial investigations revealed the teenager was transported into Malaysia from Singapore via the Woodlands Checkpoint before being taken on a 370-kilometre journey to Kuantan, where she was secretly confined.