'Haven't seen a pretty woman before?': Woman accused of kidnapping S'porean man in M'sia scolds reporters outside court

Annoyed by how close reporters were gathering around her as she was escorted out of court, the female Chinese national accused of kidnapping a 72-year-old Singaporean in Malaysia scolded them, asking, "What are you photographing? Haven't seen a pretty woman before?"

The 24-year-old female, named Guan Si Qi (transliteration), is one of four individuals accused of kidnapping a 72-year-old Singaporean man from Penang International Airport in July.

All the accused are Chinese nationals, and they have pleaded not guilty in court on Sep. 10.

According to Sin Chew Daily, the four hung their heads low or covered their faces with clothing upon seeing reporters outside of court.

Guan did the same, but at one point lashed out at reporters with her comment.

She continued avoiding the gaze of the cameras afterwards.

All four were denied bail.

Background

The four accused allegedly worked together to abduct and wrongfully confine 72-year-old Singaporean Quek Aik Teng from Penang International Airport on Jul. 26.

Quek was travelling on his own at the time.

On Aug. 4, his family in Singapore received information indicating that Quek may have been abducted.

They reportedly received audio and video messages showing Quek blindfolded, handcuffed, and repeatedly beaten.

A S$1 million ransom had been demanded in exchange for his release.

They alerted the police.

Through coordination between the Singapore and Malaysian police, he was rescued on Aug. 7 in Kedah, Malaysia.

Malaysian police raided a Kedah residence as part of the rescue, during which an exchange of gunfire resulted in the deaths of two suspects.

Both were foreign nationals.

Six suspects were detained after the raid, but two are now at large.

Following preliminary investigations, the Malaysian police said the suspects allegedly used social media and online platforms to get to know potential victims.

They would then invite the victims to meet in person under various pretexts, including going on holiday, employment opportunities or socialising.