Factory supervisor S Shanmuganathan, 33, and shop assistants G Devagar, 26, and T Mageshwaran, 19, were accused of luring H Alanross, 18, to a house in Pagoh, Johor, in August 2018.

They allegedly held the unemployed man captive for three days and demanded a RM120,000 ransom from his family.

Justice DJP Suria Kumar dismissed the case against the three men today saying there was no prima facie evidence to support the prosecution’s claims.

Earlier, the prosecution argued that Alanross was threatened with a knife, confined to a locked room and forced to make nine phone calls to his mother for money.

However, under cross-examination, Alanross admitted he had willingly gone with the accused believing that he was meeting a woman he knew.

Alanross then confessed in court to having lied to his mother, telling her he was out playing snooker when he had in fact planned to spend the night with a female acquaintance.

Police reportedly found Alanross sitting comfortably in the living room while eating and watching television unrestrained when they raided the house on Aug 20, 2018.

Suria Kumar said there were glaring contradictions in the case.

He noted that the prosecution had also failed to produce any recording of the alleged ransom calls or the phones used.

DNA evidence also failed to link the accused to the knife said to have been used to threaten Alanross.

Instead, DNA from unknown individuals was discovered in the house, further complicating the case.

“The element of wrongful confinement or deceit was not proven,” said Suria Kumar, adding that Alanross’s testimony was riddled with contradictions that made him an unreliable witness.

The three men were arrested in 2018 after a police operation. Shanmuganathan and Devagar were detained during the raid, while Mageshwaran was arrested the following day.

After hearing testimony from 16 witnesses, including the victim, his mother and his uncle, the court ruled that there was no case to answer.

Lawyers Geethan Ram Vincent and Intan Nur Alia appeared for the accused while Nur Sulehan Abd Rahman prosecuted.