The three men accused of abducting a 16 year old girl and hiding her in Vatuwaqa over the weekend, appeared in the Magistrates Court this afternoon, charged with one count of Abduction and Conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor.

The three accused, Eric Lal, Nasir Ali and Nitya Lal appeared before Magistrate Amaniasi Katonivualiku and all pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying that the girl had approached them to run-away from home.

The three claimed in Court that the 16 year old girl was a Form 4 student of Nabua and that this was the third time that the accused Eric Lal, who is allegedly having an affair with the girl, had run away with her.

Nabua Police arrested and charged the trio over the weekend after the owner of the house who saw the girl, reported the matter to Police.

Magistrate Katonivualiku remanded the three in custody until this Friday, adding that this was a very serious crime and they needed to be kept in custody for their own safety.