AMPANG - Two women pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here on Monday to a charge of robbing a man at gunpoint, resulting in a loss of RM300,000, in connection with a gold transaction three weeks ago.
The unemployed women, Zarina Sinin, 54, and Safiah Ibrahim, 59, entered their pleas after the charge was read before Judge Wan Mohd Norisham Wan Yaakob.
The charge accused them, along with five others who are still at large, of committing armed robbery using an object resembling a pistol and pepper spray against Hardev Singh Gill, 27, and taking RM300,000 from him.
The alleged offence occurred on the side of the road in Taman Melawati at 1pm on March 15.
Both accused are charged under Section 395/397 of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of imprisonment for up to 20 years and whipping, if convicted.
During the proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Hakim Amir Abdul Hamid proposed that each accused be granted bail of RM15,000.
"This includes additional conditions such as reporting to the nearest police station once every month and not harassing prosecution witnesses," he said.
However, lawyer Muhammad Fadhli M Sutris, representing Zarina, requested that bail be set at a lower amount because his client's daughter is unemployed and relies only on her children's assistance.
Meanwhile, Safiah, who was not represented by a lawyer, appealed for the minimum bail as she has no income and depends on her children's assistance.
After hearing submissions from both parties, Wan Mohd Norisham allowed each accused to be released on bail of RM7,000 with additional conditions to report to the nearest police station twice a month.
The court then set June 24 for the next mention of the case.
It was reported that three women were arrested on March 19, in connection with a robbery involving a gold transaction resulting in a loss of RM300,000.
According to Ampang Jaya district police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Azam Ismail, all suspects were arrested following a report by a man who claimed to have been deceived on March 15.
He said the victim and his friend conducted a gold transaction with a woman and a man at Melawati Mall at 1pm.
"The victim was then asked to board a Proton Gen2 car to retrieve the gold, and allegedly driven around the shopping centre three times.
"They were then taken to Jalan G1 and the car stopped on the side of the road before four male foreign suspects arrived, with one of them pointing a pistol at the victim's head," he added.