Three children charged with threatening elderly woman with iron rod, mop

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Three children from Myanmar were charged with criminal intimidation involving a 71-year-old woman last week.

The three, comprising two 11-year-olds and a 12-year-old, pleaded not guilty when the charge was read out to them for the second time before magistrate Roshayati Radellah.

They were jointly charged with threatening to cause injury to the woman using several objects, including a mop, an iron rod, a long white fluorescent light and stones.

The offence allegedly took place in front of a house at 23, Tingkat Binjai Empat Belas, Taman Sri Rambai, at 6pm on Oct 22.

The charge was framed under Section 506 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same code.

If convicted, they face up to two years' imprisonment, a fine, or both.

Deputy public prosecutor Zulfadzli Hassan proposed bail of RM4,000 for each accused, with a local surety. He also requested that their travel documents be surrendered to the court.

He sought additional conditions requiring the children to report to a nearby police station every fortnight. He also proposed prohibiting them and their families from contacting or disturbing the victim.

"The court should take into consideration that the alleged offence involved criminal intimidation against an elderly woman who was also their neighbour," he said.

However, National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK) lawyer Nur Najihah Ahmad Zulkarnain, representing the children, appealed for bail, citing their young ages and family circumstances.

She told the court that two of the children were still attending school, while the other 11-year-old was not in school.

"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 said.

The court denied bail and fixed Nov 10 for the submission of documents and the appointment of a Myanmar interpreter to read out the charge again.

The three children and their parents broke down in tears in the courtroom after the bail application was rejected.

On Oct 27, it was reported that police had arrested four boys from Myanmar, aged between nine and 12, to assist investigations into the alleged criminal intimidation of an elderly woman in Taman Sri Rambai.

The incident was believed to have occurred on Oct 22, after the woman reprimanded a group of children for making noise while playing at a nearby playground.

She was then pelted with stones and an iron rod. Although she was not injured, she was frightened by the incident and lodged a police report.