KUALA LUMPUR: A university student from China was today fined RM17,000 by the Sessions Court here for deceiving his friend’s mother by staging a fake kidnapping to extort RM2.9 million in ransom.
Judge Azrul Darus imposed the sentence on Zhang Runbao, 23, who is studying in Singapore, after he changed his plea to guilty when the alternative charge was read during the case mention. The court also ordered a six-month jail term in default of payment.
According to the alternative charge, Zhang deceived Cheng Zhiwen, the mother of his friend Ye Yingxi, by making a phone call and showing a video of Ye appearing to be abducted.
The video showed Ye with a drenched face, hands bound, partially unclothed and mouth taped. The kidnapper also claimed he had been choked and stomped on.
The accused then issued threats and demanded that Cheng transfer five million yuan (RM2.9 million) into a bank account in China.
The offence was committed at a hotel along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman between 11.44 am and 9.15 pm on May 2. Zhang was charged under Section 417 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Noor Syafina Radzuan urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, noting that the accused had caused significant inconvenience to multiple parties, incurring unnecessary time and resources for the court and police.
“In respect of the second accused (Ye), the prosecution seeks a discharge not amounting to an acquittal, as Zhang has pleaded guilty,” she submitted.
Zhang’s lawyer, Ernie Sulastri Ahmad, pleaded for a lenient sentence on the basis that he was a first-time offender and had saved judicial time and expense by pleading guilty.
“He intends to resume his studies, which are expected to conclude in June 2026,” she added.
Meanwhile, Ye’s lawyer Ramesh Sivakumar sought a full discharge and acquittal, informing the court that Cheng no longer wished to pursue the matter and had withdrawn her police report against her son.
However, Judge Azrul allowed the prosecution’s application and ordered that Ye be discharged, not amounting to an acquittal.
