Two foreign students studying in Singapore have been accused in Malaysia of plotting a fictitious steal to defraud one of their mothers of about US$ 700,000 in ransom.  ,
According to local news outlet Free Malaysia Today ( FMT ), Zhang Runbao, 23, and Ye Yingxi, 18, have filed for trial after being jointly charged with defrauding Ye’s mother in violation of Section 511 of the Penal Code and claiming to have been defrauded at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on May 2.  ,
Although other media reports claimed Ye is a student at Singapore Institute of Management ( SIM), FMT also identified both individuals as Chinese nationals and NUS students.  ,
CNA has reached out for reply to both SIM and NUS.
Ramesh Sivakumar, Ye’s attorney, informed CNA on Wednesday that Zhang had not originally known his customer.  ,
It’s unclear why the trio was in Malaysia when the incident happened at a motel along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman’s Jalan.  ,
In an effort to demand a ransom, the trio reportedly sent a picture to Ye’s mom, 40-year-old Cheng Zhiwen, and called her to the scene where he was reportedly half undressed, gagged, and appeared to be strangled.  ,
According to local media outlet the New Straits Times, the couple also filed a trial on the charge of trying to intimidate and extract Chen into paying the ransom by making another movie call to her, which shows You in the same agonizing condition.