Man, 22, pleads not guilty to detaining S'pore schoolgirl, 15, who was rescued in M'sia

A 22-year-old university student, Huang Xiaonan, was arrested in Malaysia in relation to a case involving a 15-year-old girl who did not turn up for school in Singapore.

Huang, who is a Chinese national, pleaded not guilty at the Johor Bahru Magistrate Court to his charge of illegally detaining the girl in a hotel in Johor Bahru on Nov. 24.

The girl was rescued by Malaysia police on Nov. 26 in Kuantan, Malaysia within 24 hours of being reported missing by her father, who lives in Johor.

Her father, aged 48, is also a Chinese national.

If Huang is convicted, he faces a jail term of up to seven years and a fine.

He is reportedly a student at a university in Singapore, Malaysia media reported.

Denied bail

The student has been denied bail.

The prosecution argued that he should not be granted bail given the severity of his offence and that he posed a flight risk as he is a Chinese national.

Meanwhile, Huang's lawyer appealed for bail by citing his cooperation with Malaysia police and that he had agreed to surrender his passport.

The defence also pointed out how the accused has a relative living in Skudai.

After listening to the arguments presented by the prosecution and the defence, the magistrate denied the accused bail and set Jan. 27, 2025 as the deadline for the submission of documents on the case.

Relationship between accused and victim unclear

Oriental Daily further reported that the accused is from Dongguan city in China's Guangdong province.

However, Huang's lawyer said he was unclear about the relationship between the accused and the victim.

Background

Top photo via Oriental Daily