Three young boys from Myanmar were charged with criminal intimidation at the Bukit Mertajam magistrate’s court in Penang today, reported NST.
The trio, which consisted of two 11-year-olds and a 12-year-old, pleaded not guilty when the charge was read out for the second time before magistrate Roshayati Radellah.
This was because the boys told the court that they didn’t understand the charge when it was read out in Bahasa Malaysia the first time.
What happened
According to the charge sheet, the incident took place in front of a house at 23, Tingkat Binjai Empat Belas, Taman Sri Rambai, at 6pm on Oct 22.
The victim, a 71-year-old woman, had confronted them for making too much noise while playing at a nearby playground.
This led to the boys retaliating by hurling a mop, an iron rod, a long white fluorescent light and stones at her.
Though unhurt, the woman was traumitised by the incident and lodged a police report.
Five days after the alleged assault, four boys were arrested to facilitate further investigations.
Bail denied
The trio were charged under Section 506 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same code. They face up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both if convicted.
Deputy public prosecutor Zulfadzli Hassan proposed bail of RM4,000 for each of them with a local surety, as well as the surrendering of their travel documents to the court.
He also requested for additional conditions requiring the boys to report to a nearby police station every two weeks and proposed banning them and their families from contacting or disturbing the victim, who was their neighbour.
National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK) lawyer Nur Najihah Ahmad Zulkarnain, who represented the boys, appealed for bail to be granted given their age and family circumstances.
She informed the court that two of the boys were still attending school, while the other 11-year-old wasn’t.
Two of the accused’s mothers are housewives while the other is a factory worker. Their fathers work as labourers earning about RM100 a day,” she added.
However, bail was ultimately denied and the ruling caused the boys and their families to break down in tears.
Nov 10 was fixed for the submission of documents and the appointment of a Myanmar interpreter to read out the charge again.
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