Four men plead not guilty to rape of 11-year-old girl in Jempol

SEREMBAN – Four men have been charged in the Sessions Court here with raping an 11-year-old girl, while one of them faces additional charges involving the same victim and another minor.

The accused, Y Sayrran Kumar, 21, a mechanic; Thineshwaran, 30, a lorry driver; G Niresh Pillai, 21, a mechanic and K Kumar, 40, a transport service operator, pleaded not guilty when the charges were read before Judge Datin Surita Budin on Friday.

According to the charge sheets, the men allegedly raped the 11-year-10-month-old girl in a room at a house in Taman Meranti, Bahau, Jempol, on Aug 23 between 11am and 3.30pm.

Sayrran Kumar also faces two additional charges. He allegedly raped the same victim in June about 11.30am in the back seat of a Perodua Myvi in front of Padang Taman ACBE, Jempol.

He is further accused of raping a 12-year-old girl at the same house on Aug 23 between 11.30am and 12 noon.

All of the accused were charged under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and whipping, if convicted.

During the proceedings, lawyer Revin Kumar represented Sayrran Kumar and Niresh Pillai; S Virochean appeared for Kumar; while Ramzani Idris represented Thineshwaran. The defence lawyers appealed for minimum bail, citing financial and health concerns.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Norazihah Asmuni offered bail of RM30,000 for each charge with additional conditions.

She also informed the court that the victim was acquainted with all the accused.

All the accused were brought to court by police.

The court set bail at RM30,000 for the three charges against Sayrran Kumar, RM10,000 each for Kumar and Thineshwaran and RM5,000 for Niresh Pillai.

All accused were also ordered not to disturb witnesses, to report to the nearest police station once a month and to surrender their passports if they possessed one.

The case has been fixed for further mention on Oct 15 for the submission of documents.