Nine Chinese nationals pleaded not guilty at the Balik Pulau Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to charges of participating in a love scam syndicate earlier this month.
The accused — Ye Binyu, 32, Yang Jie, 34, Xiang Hanghang, 33, Lin Zhixu, 30, Zhang Peng, 30, Huang Shihong, 31, Tan Qiao, 22, Tan Bo, 26, and Li Mingrui, 27 — entered their pleas before Magistrate Chia Huey Ting.
According to the charge sheet, the nine allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy to deceive victims through a love scam operation.
The offence was allegedly committed at a condominium unit in Muze PICC Condominium, Persiaran Mahsuri, Sungai Nibong Kecil, Bayan Lepas, at about 6.10pm on July 1.
They were charged under Section 120B(1) of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of between one and 10 years, as well as whipping and a fine, upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Ikmal Affandi Zulkifli and Muhammad Sofi Jaafar appeared for the prosecution, while the accused were represented by lawyer Ahmad Luthfillah Hadi Ahmad.
The prosecution initially proposed bail of RM10,000 with two Malaysian sureties for each accused. It also requested that they report to a police station once a month and surrender their passports until the case is concluded.
Defence counsel appealed for a lower bail, telling the court that all nine entered Malaysia as tourists and have permanent jobs in China, earning between RM1,800 and RM3,000 a month.
He argued that the accused have no family members in Malaysia to assist with bail payments and that surrendering their passports would eliminate any flight risk.
Magistrate Chia subsequently set bail at RM8,000 with two Malaysian sureties for each accused.
The court also ordered all nine to report to the Sungai Nibong Police Station every Thursday and surrender their passports until the disposal of the case.
The case has been fixed for August 27 for further mention.
