Malaysian Mum Charged For Scamming An Australian Couple Over Photos Of Their Deceased Baby
Siti Nurhidayah Kamal was charged with blackmail at the Ringwood Magistrates Court yesterday, 29 April.
By Jia Vern Tham — 30 Apr 2019, 12:22 PM
24-year-old Siti Nurhadiyah Kamal was charged yesterday, 29 April, for attempting to blackmail an Australian couple who recently lost their baby
Siti reportedly demanded AUD1,000 (approximately RM2,915) for the return of the couple's Samsung Galaxy S8
The demand followed a public appeal made by the couple last week in return for the phone, which was snatched in a toilet at Chadstone Shopping Centre on Easter Sunday.
The parents had begged for the phone to be returned as it contained priceless memories of their terminally-ill daughter, reported The Age.
However, Siti never had the phone she was demanding money for.
"The hours that we spent holding our daughter, this woman (Siti) was sitting in her own house demanding money from us," the grieving mother was quoted as saying by 9 News.
"It's despicable, it's disgusting, why would anyone do that? She knew the position we were in. You could tell by the messages," the mother added.
The 24-year-old had sent the blackmail message to the heartbroken parents as they were saying their final goodbyes to their baby
"The text message described serious remorse for picking up the phone and not returning it sooner," the Melbourne father wrote in a Facebook post.
"However, their condition was, they wanted AUD1,000 (approximately RM2,915) to be deposited into their account for the return of the phone," he added.
The Malaysian was eventually arrested by local police on Friday, 26 April
She was detained at her home after local police tracked her down with the bank details she provided the couple.
According to 9 News, Siti was crying in the dock yesterday while her husband begged for her bail.
"I just want to say sorry because I didn't know my wife did that. I really don't have any idea about that," Siti's husband told 9 News.
Siti moved to Melbourne with her husband in September 2018
The Age reported that the Malaysian couple, who worked as Uber Eats delivery cyclists, had been struggling financially. They left two children in Malaysia.
Siti makes AUD120 (approximately RM350) a day and pays AUD90 (approximately RM262) a week to hire the bicycle for her job.
The 24-year-old's lawyer had told the court that the Malaysians could not afford to keep up with rent repayments of their house in Melbourne, reported 9 News.
Siti has been denied bail and will face the Melbourne Magistrates Court today.