16 men charged with becoming members of organised crime group

SUNGAI PETANI: Sixteen men were charged in the Sessions Court here today with being members of an organised crime group known as "Geng 35 Sungai Petani".
The accused, aged 19 to 36 years, nodded after the charge was read out before Judge M. Vijayalakshmi.
However, no plea was recorded from all the accused.
They are M. Sayhisvaran, 19; S. Ganes Kumar, 24; G. Sethu, 27; P. Sritharan, 23; S. Mageswaran, 25; V. Karthik, 26; S. Nanthakumar, 35; S. Gunabalan, 23; T. Viveganath, 25; S. Thiyagu, 32; K. Sukumaran, 30; Muhammad Hafiz Abdullah, 30; Lee Choon Chuan, 36; S. S. Kesavan, 35; Y. Thibagar, 28, and Y. Karthik, 25.
They were charged with being members of the organised crime group in the Kuala Muda district since Jan 1, 2015, until July 18, this year.
They are charged under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code (Act 574) which provides for an imprisonment for up to 20 years, if found guilty.
All the accused were not allowed bail and Vijayalakshmi set Sept 13 for mention.
Deputy public prosecutor Saiful Edris Zainuddin appeared for the prosecution. — Bernama