GEORGE TOWN, May 29 – Five men, including one with the title “Datuk”, were charged in the Sessions Court with being members of organised crime group “Gang 24”. Two of the accused, Lim Boon Hooi, 40, and Toh Kae Luen, 26, nodded their heads to indicate that they understood the charge when it was read out to them in Mandarin and Hokkien in Sessions Court 1 before judge Norsalha Hamzah.
In Sessions Court 2, the other accused, Datuk Koh Thiam Hua, 38, Chan Yi Heng, 22 and Harry Tan Cheng Yu, 31, also nodded their heads when the charge was read out to them before judge Irwan Suaibon. They were charged with being members of Gang 24 Penang from Jan 1, 2015 until May 6, this year.
The charge is under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code which provides for a jail term of up to 20 years if convicted. They are being detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012. Toh was represented by lawyer Muhamad Asri Abdul Hamid, Koh by lawyer Mohd Zulfiqri Zakaria and Chan by lawyer S. Raveentharan, while the other two accused were not represented.
Deputy public prosecutor Lim Cheah Kit appeared for the prosecution and no bail was offered to all the accused. Both Norsalha and Irwan set July 5 for mention of the case to give the prosecution time to apply for the case to be transferred to the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
