Shocking Story Of Kidnapped Local Woman Lawyer Told In Court
By Rol Ezam

Bandar Seri Begawan – The horrendous tale of four Malaysians from Labuan who abducted Naz Parveen Hj Rashid, a 34-year-old local woman lawyer, on September 2 was told in court yesterday.

She was assaulted and robbed, abandoned unclothed tied to a tree in a remote place in Tutong after her ordeal where her brothers and relatives found her in a state of distress the following day, the Brunei High Court heard.

When she was subsequently rushed to RIPAS Hospital, Dr Daw Ni Ni Aung, the examining physician, found her to be dehydrated, very upset emotionally and was in pain and in tears.

She suffered multiple injuries on her face, body, hand and feet with gross swelling and rope marks on her hands and ankles.

Because of the seriousness of her injuries, she was only discharged from the hospital on September 13 and to date is still receiving outpatient treatment for her injuries, Mr Justice Dato Steven Chong heard.

The perpetrators of this heinous crime as revealed in court were Suhaili Elias, 34, Mohd Shahnizam Shamshuddin, 20, Fenny De David Martin Danori, 27, and Azman Pungut, 32. They were not represented and pleaded guilty to all charges.

The statement of facts read to them in the Brunei High Court was as follows:

The court heard that the investigations by the Police revealed that on September 1 the defendants travelled from Labuan to Limbang intending to go to Brunei. Their intention was to attend the wedding of one of Suhaili’s relatives in Seria. The defendants stayed overnight in a hotel in Limbang.

On the next day, they took a taxi from Limbang town to the Limbang-Temburong border. After crossing the river border, the four then took an illegal taxi to Bangar town having entered Brunei without any proper travel documents and without reporting to the Kg. Puni Immigration Control Post near the border.

At Bangar Town, the defendants then took a water taxi to Bandar Seri Begawan. They arrived in the capital in the afternoon. The defendants then took a taxi and went to the Mile 1 area of Jalan Tutong, they then went near the Badi’ah Building in Jalan Tutong.

The defendants were short of money at the time, the court heard.

They then planned to extort money from any person who happened to be in the area. Prior to this, Fenny obtained a knife and a parang (machete), which he found in a box under the road flyover near the building. The defendants agreed to use the weapons to threaten their intended victim.

The defendants subsequently observed one Naz Parveen binti Abdul Rashid (the victim) in the basement parking area of Badi’ah Building. The victim was a lawyer with Sandhu and Company, which has its offices at Badi’ah.

From the car park, Naz Parveen went to a nearby department store. The defendants agreed to abduct her and then extort money. They then waited for her return. At about 5.45pm when she returned to her car nearby, a Kia Sportage registration number BT6082, parked at the basement, the four immediately seized her.

Fenny pointed the knife at her neck and Nizam trained the parang at her abdomen. They then forced her to enter her car.

Inside the car, she sat in the rear and was guarded by Suhaili who sat on her left holding the parang and Fenny who sat on her right holding the knife. Azman drove the car and Nizam was sitting in the front passenger seat. Inside the car, the defendants demanded money from her and threatened to kill her if she refused to cooperate.

She in a state of shock and fear pleaded with the four abductors to release her but instead, to keep her quiet, Fenny punched her on her right cheek and Suhaili hit her head and left abdomen.

She then informed the defendants that she only had $300 cash on her. Her wallet and the money were seized. Upon finding her bankcards, they then asked her whether she had any money in the bank.

She then replied that she had money in her accounts and she was then forced to reveal the PIN numbers. At about 6.05pm they then went to Baiduri Bank Automated Teller Machine (ATM) at Kiarong Complex.

Suhaili, using the bankcard and the PIN numbers obtained from the victim, withdrew $1000 from account no. 8-001-005884-8 jointly held by the victim and her husband. At Kiarong, they switched seats. Fenny drove the car and Suhaili sat in the front passenger seat. Azman sat on the victim’s right and held the knife. Nizam sat on her left and held the parang.

The defendants and the victim then went to Maybank in Gadong to withdraw more money from the ATM using the bankcard and PIN number obtained from the victim. However this time, no money could be withdrawn.

The four then drove her around the Bandar Seri Begawan area before eventually heading towards Seria. On the way to Seria, they changed their minds and headed back towards Bandar Seri Begawan.

Near Kg. Bukit Panggal in the Tutong District, the car was driven off the highway onto a dirt track and came to a stop near a small hill.

After dragging the victim from the car, the four agreed for Suhaili to guard the victim whilst the other three would look for a car and a place for them to stay. Suhaili then gave Fenny $800 to rent a car and pay for the hotel.

Azman, Fenny and Nizam then drove back to Gadong and checked into the Riverview Hotel. As the car belonging to the victim was running low on petrol, the three abandoned the car near the hotel. As they could not rent another car at that time, they then went back to the hotel to sleep.

Meanwhile, back near the small hill in the vicinity of Kg. Bukit Panggal, the victim tried to run away after the three defendants had left. However Suhaili managed to catch her and then seized her by the hair and dragged her along the rough ground to a tree. Suhaili slapped her face, punched her on her right eye area and kicked her in her right chest area and threatened her with the parang. He then had sexual intercourse with her without her consent. The victim who was injured by the earlier assaults by Suhaili was too weak to offer any resistance.

In the early hours of the morning of September 3, Suhaili left the Bukit Panggal area. He then got a lift from a pick-up lorry and went to Bandar Seri Begawan. From the city, Suhaili went to Gadong. At about 5.55 am, with the bankcard and PIN number obtained from the victim, Suhaili withdrew another $1,000 from the victim’s account no. 8-001-005884-8 with Baiduri Bank. He then went to the Maybank ATM nearby and withdrew $2,000 from the victim’s account no. 06010609279. He then took a taxi back to Bandar Seri Begawan.

The same morning, the other three defendants managed to rent a car and they then went back to the Bukit Panggal area where they had left Suhaili and the victim. Fenny got out of the car and saw the victim still tied up and unclothed. Suhaili was absent. The three left her and drove back to Bandar Seri Begawan to look for Suhaili. Eventually they found him in the city and around noon and all four went back to Gadong.

After checking out of the Riverview Hotel, the four then checked into the Centerpoint Hotel where they were subsequently arrested at about 4.30 pm. When they were arrested, they were found in possession of the victim’s bankcards and cash amounting to B$3695.41.

Eventually her brothers and relatives found her in the abandoned place at about 4 pm on the same day, the court heard.

The defendants had no previous criminal record, the court heard.

The four first appeared in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday where nine new charges, an amended charge and Immigration charges were read to them.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Yusree Hj Junaidi submitted the charges initially before Senior Magistrate Hj Abdullah Soefri and applied for the case to be remitted to the Brunei High Court.

The case was then heard before Judge Dato Paduka Steven Chong soon after.

Once again the charges were read to them and their pleas taken as guilty.

They will know their fate on October 8 at 2:15 pm because Judge Steven Chong has adjourned the case for sentencing. Pending the verdict, they will be remanded at the Jerudong Prison.

They first pleaded guilty to committing theft of cash monies in the sum of $300, a wallet and its contents and a mobile phone belonging to the lawyer, and in doing so, they voluntarily caused fear of instant hurt on the woman, and at the time of the gang robbery they were armed with a ‘parang’ and a knife, the court heard.

All four pleaded guilty to wrongfully confining the lawyer for extorting money from her bank account.

They also pleaded guilty to committing theft of $1,000 from the lawyer’s bank account from an automated teller machine of the bank in Kiarong complex, another $1,000 from the same account from another automated teller machine near Centrepoint Gadong and a further $2,000 from the lawyer’s account from a different bank.

Fenny pleaded guilty to committing robbery and in doing so he punched the lawyer’s right cheek.

Suhaili charged with robbing the woman, and in doing so hit the lawyer’s head and her left abdomen, pleaded guilty to the charge.

He also admitted to committing rape on a Miss X sometime in the evening of September 2 this year in the vicinity of Kg Bukit Panggal in Tutong. And he, in order to commit the rape voluntarily caused hurt to the said Miss X.

Suhaili also pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to the 34-year-old lawyer by dragging her body on rough ground, punching her right eye area, slapping her face and kicking her right chest area while she was lying on the ground.

Meanwhile, Mohd Shah Nizam and Azman, pleaded guilty to knowingly join their two friends in committing robbery on the lawyer’s property, and in committing the offence, they voluntarily caused hurt to the lawyer.

Lastly, each of them pleaded guilty to entering the country without being in possession of a valid pass.

All the charges except the Immigration Act carry a sentence ranging from 3 to 30 years in jail and whipping of 12 strokes.  -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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