Teenage girl and boyfriend to be charged over kidnap of baby girl

BUKIT MERTAJAM: An unmarried teenage couple arrested in connection with the kidnapping of a nine-month-old girl in Bukit Tengah here will be charged on Tuesday (Aug 30), police said.

Penang police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the remand of these two suspects had been extended until their appearance in court.

"Only the remand of the 14-year-old girl and her 18-year-old boyfriend has been extended by four days, and based on an instruction from the Deputy Public Prosecutor's Office, both will be charged in court this Tuesday.

"Three others arrested together with them - their (couple's) male friend, and step father and mother of the girl's lover - have been released on police bail. They will become prosecution witnesses," he told reporters here today.

He was speaking after visiting the kidnap victim's parents at Pangsapuri Idaman in Taman Pauh to check on the baby girl's condition.

Mohd Shuhaily said investigations so far showed that there were no plans to sell the baby to anyone as reported on social media.

The baby's mother, Farisha Amirah Zainal, 24, said her daughter was in good health when she was found after the kidnapping incident last Tuesday.

However, Farisha said she and her husband Mohamad Rahimi Abdul Malik, 26, were still traumatised by the incident.

The factory worker said she had decided to quit her job to look after her only child for fear that a similar incident might happen again.

She thanked the police for their swift action in arresting the suspects and getting back her daughter.

-- BERNAMA