KUALA LUMPUR: A construction worker was sentenced to three years' imprisonment by the High Court here today for abducting and confining a Palestinian man at a chalet four years ago.
Judge Datuk Mohd Arief Emran Arifin imposed the sentence on Edy Ko'im Said, 46, after he pleaded guilty to an alternative charge.
The court ordered the father of three to begin serving his sentence today.
According to the charge, Edy Ko'im forcibly abducted the 31-year-old victim with the intention of secretly and unlawfully confining him at Jalan Mayang, Dang Wangi, here, at 10.40pm on Sept 28, 2022.
He was charged under Section 365 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum seven-year jail term and a fine.
According to the case facts, the victim was abducted and held at a chalet in Hulu Langat, Selangor, before police rescued him during a raid based on intelligence. He was found with his hands and feet bound with cable ties.
"Given the seriousness of the offence, the prosecution urges the court to impose an appropriate prison term on the accused," Deputy Public Prosecutor Mahadhir Mohd Khairudin said.
Defence counsel Kelvinder Singh Sidhu urged the court to impose the minimum prison term, citing his client's responsibility to support his wife and three children.
Meanwhile, the trial of seven other accused charged with kidnapping the same victim continued today.
They are Tengku Arif Bongsu Tengku Hamid, 45, Mohamad Naziree Mustapha, 45, Faizull Hardey Mohd Isa, 46, Muhammad Iqmal Abdul Rahis, 31, Mohd Zaidi Mohd Zain, 60, Nidarahayu Zainal, 40, and Raibafie Amdan, 45.
According to the charge, all the accused had acted with a common intention to detain the victim at the same location and time to obtain a reward in exchange for secret information on developing and deactivating computer software used to hack mobile phones.
The eight accused were charged under Section 3 of the Kidnapping Act 1961, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code. If convicted, they face a prison term of between 30 and 40 years and whipping.
Apart from the kidnapping case, Tengku Arif Bongsu, Nidarahayu and her husband, Raibafie, face 19 money laundering 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 (AMLATFPUAA).
On July 10, 2025, six men were sentenced to five years' imprisonment after pleading guilty to alternative charges of abducting and confining the same victim.
They were 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.
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