AN unemployed man was charged at the Johor Bahru Sessions Court with abducting and illegally confining six-year-old Albertine Leo last month. 

Leang Win Son, 31, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to him in Mandarin in front of judge Rasidah Ruslee. 

The accused allegedly abducted the child from her mother at Eko Galleria 3 along Jalan Eko Botani 3/2 in Iskandar Puteri at around 8.30pm on July 20. 

He was charged under Section 363 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum seven years imprisonment and a fine upon conviction. 

Leang, who is single, was also charged with wrongfully confining the child inside a hotel room on Jalan Mahogani 9, Batang Kali in Hulu Selangor, Selangor at around 4.45am on July 23. 

This offence under Section 346 of the Penal Code is punishable by a maximum two-year prison sentence. 

The accused claimed trial to the two charges and the court set bail at RM20,000. 

The court also ordered the accused to surrender his passport to the court and to report to the nearest police station once a month until the case concluded. 

The accused was also ordered not to contact any prosecution witness.

In a separate Sessions Court before judge Siti Noraida Sulaiman, Leang was also accused of possessing 5,317 images and videos of child sexual abuse, stored on two SD cards, a hard drive, and a mobile phone, at a house on Jalan Bunga Raya 2, Taman Sri Kulai near Kulai at 4pm on July 24. 

The charges under Section 8(b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 provide for a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and caning upon conviction. 

Leang was also accused of non-physical sexual abuse by forcing a child to expose her body to him at the same hotel between 12.30pm on July 22 and 4.45am on July 23. 

That offence comes under Section 15(a)(ii) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment or a fine of up to RM20,000, or both. 

Leang also faced two charges of possessing child pornography that related to 30 images of child sexual abuse found on a mobile phone in a hotel room at Jalan Mahagoni 9, Batang Kali, at 4.45am on July 23. 

Those charges come under Section 10 of the same act and carry a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment or a fine of up to RM10,000, or both. 

Johor State Prosecutor Abdul Ghafar Ab Latif informed the court that the charges were non-bailable. 

However, he suggested a total bail amount of RM160,000 for all charges if bail were to be considered. 

Bail was then set at RM50,000 and the accused was ordered to surrender his passport, report to the nearest police station every month, and refrain from contacting prosecution witnesses. 

The court scheduled the next hearing for September 12 for the submission of documents. 

Leang also claimed trial to seven new charges at the magistrate’s court in Kulai, which involved the possession of inappropriate items such as anime-themed body pillows depicting naked young girls and other pornographic material. 

He pleaded not guilty to committing the offences when the charges were read to him by the court interpreter before Magistrate Azureen Sahira Sauffee Afandi.

On Sunday, Leang was rearrested following the discovery of sex toys and child pornography at his home in Kulai. 

Johor police chief M. Kumar said the investigation papers were sent to the state deputy public prosecutor’s office, which issued instructions to proceed with the charges. 

Leang was the last suspect to be arrested in connection with Albertine Leo’s kidnapping, following the arrest of four others on July 22 and 23. 

The child was reported missing by her father on July 20 at a shopping mall in Iskandar Puteri. She was found three days later in a budget hotel in Batang Kali, Selangor. – August 8, 2024.