GEORGE TOWN: Three men have been told to enter their defence on a charge of kidnapping a 10-year-old for RM1.7mil ransom by the High Court here.

       High Court judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir said here on Tuesday (Feb 1) the prosecution had proved a prima facie case against the accused.

       In 2016, a welder, a blacksmith and a businessman were charged with kidnapping and wrongfully confining a 10-year-old boy for ransom.

       Quaik Yong Lai, 40, Goh Jit Ee, 42, and Heng Tian Chuan, 40, were accused of committing the offence in front of a music tuition centre in Taman Jernih in Bukit Mertajam at around 3.50pm on June 29 that year.

       The boy was held for less than 24 hours.

       "The issue here was with the identity of the accused as the victim was only 10 years old when he was kidnapped.

       "Although he was only 10 during the incident, he managed to identify the three accused in court and (provided) his reasoning behind the identification.

       "I accept his testimony and the prosecution has proven a prima facie case," he said.

       Akhtar said the defence teams of the accused now had to submit their defence.

       "The court date will be set soon as I am based in Kuala Lumpur.

       Quaik and Heng were represented by RSN Rayer and his team while Goh was represented by Datuk K. Kumaraendran.

       The deputy public prosecutor was Mohd Amril Johari.