Bella and 7 others retract guilty pleas in extortion and assault case

LocalPolitics
3 Jun 2025 • 4:03 PM MYT
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Bella and 7 others retract guilty pleas in extortion and assault case

A WOMAN known as ‘Bella’ and seven male accomplices who had previously pleaded guilty to four charges involving criminal intimidation, assault, and extortion, have now changed their pleas to not guilty at the Magistrates’ Court here today.

Bella, whose full name is Nuredrianna Balqqisyh Anabella Norazman, 22, and the seven other accused denied all charges after they were read again before Magistrates A Shaarmini and Nur Fatin Mohamad Farid.

The other accused are 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; and Syamsul Hamiziey Saiful Razali, 19.

On the first charge, all eight accused along with two individuals still at large, are accused of extorting Muhammad Faris Syahmi Mohd Ridzwan, 22, by threatening continued physical assault unless he agreed to pay RM3,000.

This reportedly led the victim to surrender RM650 and the keys to a Yamaha Y16 motorcycle to accused Mohamad Amierul Hakim.

On the second charge, seven of the accused, excluding Bella, are alleged to have deliberately caused injury to the victim, again with one suspect still at large.

The third charge involves all eight accused, including Bella, and two others yet to be apprehended, for unlawfully confining the victim.

In a separate proceeding before Magistrate Nur Fatin Mohamad Farid, all eight also pleaded not guilty to a fourth charge of criminal intimidation, specifically threatening to kill the victim.

The offences were allegedly committed at an apartment in Plentong, Masai, between 10 pm and 4 am on 18 and 19 April.

The charges are filed under Sections 506, 384, and 342 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation, extortion, and wrongful confinement, respectively. The fourth charge is under Section 323 for voluntarily causing hurt, which carries penalties of up to ten years' imprisonment, a fine, or both, upon conviction.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Nur Fatihah Mohd Nizam and Nik Noraini Nik Azman led the prosecution.

The group had initially pleaded guilty on 25 April to all four charges, relating to an incident that was widely circulated on social media. Videos showed a young man appearing weak and injured after allegedly being assaulted by a group in a house believed to be in Pasir Gudang. - June 3, 2025