Housewife charged in $4.5M kidnap for ransom plot against husband

Chan Wan Kooi is accused of conspiring with accomplices to kidnap her 59-year-old husband. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM The Star/Asia News Network

JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia — A 57-year-old housewife has been charged with conspiring to kidnap her own husband for a ransom of RM20 million ($4.5 million).

Chan Wan Kooi merely nodded after the charge was read to her in Mandarin by the court interpreter before Sessions Court judge Hazeelia Muhammad.

The grandmother of four is accused of conspiring with her accomplices – businessman Chong Shih Ming, 46, and two Vietnamese nationals, Luong Van Tung, 39, and Tran Van Chung, 29 – to kidnap her 59-year-old husband.

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They allegedly committed the offense at a house near Jalan Straits View in Johor Bahru at around 5 am on Oct 13, with the intent to demand the ransom.

The charge under Section 3(1) of the Kidnapping Act 1961 (Act 365), read together with Section 109 of the Penal Code, carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and caning if convicted.

No plea was recorded, as the case falls under the jurisdiction of the High Court.

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Deputy public prosecutors Umar Faiz Abdul Kohar and Nor Maisarah Hassan appeared for the prosecution, while Chan was represented by lawyer Jagjit Singh Bant Singh.