JOHOR BARU, Aug 8 – The suspect in the abduction of six-year-old Albertine Leo Jia Hui will be hit with 15 charges in separate courts here and Kulai today.
Johor police chief M. Kumar said investigators have forwarded the investigation papers to the state deputy public prosecutor's office for further action, which then returned instruction to proceed with the charges.
“The suspect faces seven charges under Section 292 of the Penal Code for possession of obscene material and one count each under Section 363 of the Penal Code for kidnapping and Section 346 of the Penal Code for wrongful confinement.
“In addition, the suspect will also be charged with four counts under Section 8(b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 for obtaining, collecting, or requesting child sexual abuse material; one count under Section 10 of the same Act for possession of child sexual abuse material, and another count under Section 15(a)(ii) of the same Act," he said in a statement here last night.
The suspect is currently under his second remand for the alleged abduction of Leo, and four others previously arrested have all been released.
He was arrested on July 23, three days after the girl was reported missing at the Eco Galleria shopping centre in Iskandar Puteri on July 20.
Kumar was previously reported saying that the victim was not harmed throughout the period where she was in captivity.
He said aside from some trauma, Leo was healthy based on a medical examination.
On August 4, the suspect was rearrested following the discovery of various sex toys, child pornographic material and sexual abuse material found at his residence near Kulai.
Leo’s disappearance had caused a nationwide sensation.
