NAJIB (left) and his younger brother, Muhammad Nazim (right) and Mohamad Rizuan (centre) were brought before the Johor Bahru Sessions Court today on charges of raping a 15-year-old girl, earlier this month.
JOHOR BAHRU - Three contract workers, including two brothers, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today to the charge of raping a 15-year-old teenage girl who was their acquaintance in Bandar Baru Uda, here earlier this month.
The three accused, Najib Hashim, 22, and his brother, Muhammad Nazim, 18, and one of their friends, Mohamad Rizuan Semail, 18, made the confession after the charges were read separately before Judge Siti Noraida Sulaiman.
Based on the charge sheet, Najib and his younger brother, Muhammad Nazim, are alleged to have raped the victim in a green vehicle on the side of the road in Bandar Baru Uda at 9pm, 4 August.
Meanwhile, Mohamad Rizuan was charged with two counts of raping the same victim at a residence in Bandar Baru Uda at 9pm on August 5 and 10pm the next day respectively.
For the offence, the three accused were charged in accordance with Section 376(1) of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and caning if convicted.
The lawyer for the three accused, Nurhazneena Zureen Jaesleen Mohamad Hanafiah asked the court to grant minimum bail because they only work as contract laborers with an income of RM1,000 a month.
"All of them also support their families, including their parents who are not healthy, as well as their younger siblings who are still in school," he said.
The court then allowed Najib and Muhammad Nazim to be bailed at RM15,000 each, while Mohamad Rizuan was given bail at RM24,000 for the two charges he faced.
Siti Noraida also ordered all the accused to report to the nearest police station once a month, not to approach or disturb witnesses and hand over their international passports to the court.
Siti Noraida also set a date of October 18 for the re-mention of the case for the submission of documents. The case was handled by the Deputy Public Prosecutor, Nur Farah Wahida Shahudin
