The High Court issued an arrest warrant and revoked bail for Muhammad Iqmal, one of eight accused of kidnapping a Palestinian man, after he went missing.
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today issued an arrest warrant against one of eight individuals charged with detaining a Palestinian man to obtain secret information related to software used to hack mobile phones.
Judge Datuk Mohd Arief Emran Arifin issued the order after the accused, Muhammad Iqmal Abdul Rahis, 31, failed to attend today’s case management proceedings.
Earlier, when Judge Mohd Arief Emran asked about the accused’s absence, Muhammad Iqmal’s bailor told the court that efforts to locate him at his residence in an oil palm plantation area had been unsuccessful, adding that a police report had also been lodged.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Zailin Nadia Zubir said the police had also been unable to locate the accused since Sept 11.
“The police went to Tanjung Sepat, Kuala Langat and interviewed the named individual’s (Muhammad Iqmal’s) father, but he said that Muhammad Iqmal had not returned to the village since January and the authorities are still trying to locate the accused,” she said.
Judge Mohd Arief Emran subsequently revoked the RM50,000 bail previously granted to the accused.
Besides Muhammad Iqmal, the seven other individuals involved are Tengku Arif Bongsu Tengku Hamid, 45, Mohamad Naziree Mustapha, 45, Faizull Hardey Mohd Isa, 47, Mohd Zaidi Mohd Zain, 60, Nidarahayu Zainal, 40, Raibafie Amdan, 45, and Edy Ko’im Said, 46.
The trial, which began on July 7 last year, has heard the testimony of eight prosecution witnesses and is scheduled to resume on Oct 12.
According to the charge, the eight accused allegedly acted with common intention to detain the 31-year-old victim at the same place and time to obtain a reward in the form of secret information on how to create and deactivate computer software used to hack mobile phones.
They are alleged to have committed the offence at Jalan Mayang here at 10.40 pm on Sept 28, 2022, under Section 3 of the Kidnapping Act 1961, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which carries a minimum jail term of 30 years and a maximum of 40 years, as well as whipping, upon conviction.
Meanwhile, Tengku Arif Bongsu and married couple Nidarahayu and Raibafie are also facing 19 additional charges involving more than RM250,000 under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
On July 10 last year, six men, Mohamad Norakmal Hassan, 46, Mohd Azwan Jamaludin, 42, Dody Junaidi, 47, Mohamad Sufian Saly, 28, Tengku Hazarul Ismail Tengku Hamid, 54, and Muhammad Al Hatim Mohd Fauzi, 28, were sentenced to five years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to alternative charges of abducting and confining the same victim.
