SIBU: A 40-year-old man was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment by the Magistrate’s Court here on Friday (June 19) after admitting to a charge of criminal intimidation for threatening to kill his family members while brandishing a knife during a domestic dispute.
Magistrate Oon Kork Chern imposed the custodial sentence on Wong Siong Chai and ordered it to take effect from his date of arrest on June 17.
The court heard that the incident occurred about 7:40 pm on June 16 at a house in Lorong Bahagia Selatan, where Wong turned aggressive before taking a knife from the kitchen and confronting those present in the house.
He was accused of threatening to cause the death of his elderly mother, Law Poo Ling, by shouting words to the effect of “I will kill all of you”, causing fear and alarm to the victim.
According to the facts of the case, the accused’s actions escalated beyond a verbal confrontation when he armed himself with the knife and issued the threat in a loud and aggressive manner.
A witness also saw him holding the weapon during the incident.
Investigations were conducted following a report lodged by the complainant.
At about 1:10 am the following day, a police team led by Inspector Ahmad Hakmi Abd Azid arrested Wong at the same address and seized a knife with a damaged handle believed to be linked to the case.
Investigations revealed that Wong is the biological son of the complainant and resides at the family home.
It was further disclosed that he was believed to be under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident and had claimed that he was being neglected by family members.
Wong was charged with criminal intimidation under Section 503 of the Penal Code, punishable under the second limb of Section 506, which provides for a jail term of up to seven years, a fine, or both upon conviction.
In sentencing, the court took into account the seriousness of the offence, particularly the threat to cause death and the involvement of a weapon, before ordering Wong to serve 18 months in prison.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP), Keshava Rao Tharma Raja, while the accused had no legal representation.
