Six accused of abducting Chinese national with four others at large
SEPANG: A married couple and four others have been charged with kidnapping a Chinese national last month and demanding a ransom of USDT1mil (RM4.44mil) in cryptocurrency.
Chen Jun Hiong, 28; Law Han Wei, 28; Dhinnesh Tan Kin Yuan, 29; Jong Li Jiat, 25; and husband and wife Loh Wei Jian and Wong Xiao Yen, both 29; pleaded not guilty to the charges before Sessions Court judge Amir Affendy Hamzah here yesterday.
According to the charge sheet, the six, along with four other individuals still at large, are accused of wrongfully detaining the Chinese man for a ransom amounting to USDT1,007,696.
USDT is the symbol for Tether, a cryptocurrency that is pegged to the US dollar.
The offence was allegedly committed at the Cyberjaya exit of the Maju Expressway (MEX) on July 11 at about 11am.
The charges under Section 3 (1) of the Kidnapping Act 1961, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, provide for a minimum prison sentence of 30 years or a maximum of 40 years and caning, if convicted.
The prosecution was handled by deputy public prosecutor Mohamed Wafi Husain while the accused were represented by counsels G. Freda Sabapathy (Chen), Mohd Zali Shaari (Law), Nur Aminahtul Mardiah Md Nor (Tan), P. Haresh (Jong) and Bernard Francis (Loh and Wong), Bernama reported.During the proceedings, Mohamed Wafi did not propose any bail as the offence is non- bailable.
However, each defence counsel requested bail for their client, which the court rejected.
“After considering all arguments and the nature of the charges, the court has decided that bail will not be granted,” the judge said, setting Oct 8 for the submission of documents.
Earlier this week, it was reported that police are still tracking down four more suspects believed to have been involved in the kidnapping near the MEX toll plaza, Cyberjaya, on July 11.
Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan confirmed that the four suspects – three men and a woman – were part of an 18-member gang responsible for planning and executing the kidnapping.
They are believed to still be in the country.
On Aug 3, police shot and killed four suspects in a shootout in Skudai, Johor. The suspects were also believed to be involved in the kidnapping case.
Source link
The dark allure of crypto-currency
PETALING JAYA: Anonymity, speed and global accessibility are some of the reasons why cybercriminals prefer to demand ransom to be paid in cryptocurrency, say criminologists.
Financial forensics expert Raymon Ram said unlike traditional financial systems, cryptocurrency transactions can occur without intermediaries.
“The irreversible nature of these transactions ensures that once the ransom is paid, victims cannot recover the funds, offering criminals a level of security,” he added.
Raymon also said that by using digital currency, criminals such as kidnappers could easily launder the ransom money by leveraging on the pseudo-anonymity and decentralised nature of cryptocurrency systems.
“After receiving the ransom, typically in popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or stablecoins like USDT, criminals often employ tactics such as mixing services and chain-hopping.
“Mixing services obscure the transaction trail by blending the ransom with other funds, while chain-hopping involves converting the cryptocurrency across different platforms and coins, making it harder to trace.”
Raymon said enforcing strict identity verification and transaction monitoring can make it harder for criminals to launder their illicit gains.
Criminologist Datuk Seri Dr Akhbar Satar agreed, saying that using cryptocurrency as ransom has been some criminals’ modus operandi as it would be harder for authorities to trace them.
Akhbar, who is also Malaysian Association of Certified Fraud Examiners president, said that the recently gazetted Cyber Security Act 2024 would also help in enhancing resilience against emerging threats involving cryptocurrency.ttps://dai.ly/x942lqg
