KUCHING: A former army private was sentenced to six years in prison and three lashes by the Sessions Court for robbing a girl of RM600 with a folding knife in front of a pharmacy last March.
Judge Afidah Abdul Rahman sentenced the 20-year-old accused from Melaka after the latter changed his plea to guilty on today (Dec 13).
She also ordered the sentence to run concurrently from the date of arrest on April 4, in addition to allowing the accused to serve his sentence in Melaka.
According to the charge, the accused robbed a 22-year-old woman of RM600 in a Perodua Axia at Mile 7 on March 6.
He was charged under Section 392 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 397 of the same Code, which carries a jail term of up to 14 years and caning, if convicted.
According to the facts of the case, the victim had just withdrawn money from an ATM machine and returned to her car parked in front of a pharmacy around 4.30pm.
The accused, who followed the victim, immediately got into the back seat of the victim’s car.
He covered the victim’s mouth with his hand while instructing her not to make a sound at knifepoint.
Out of fear, the victim handed over RM600 to the accused who got out of the car and fled.
The victim later lodged a police report for action and further investigation led to the arrest of the accused on April 4.
During the hearing, the accused pleaded for a reduced sentence as it was his first offence and promised not to repeat the same mistake, in addition to losing his income after being dismissed from duty on Dec 1.
The accused admitted to committing the offence as he desperately needed money to support his family and to pay off debts.
However, judge Afidah could not accept his reasoning since the accused was a civil servant and it was his responsibility to look after the interests and safety of the public.
It was understood that the accused had a debt with a licensed money lender that needed to be settled immediately.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Aiman Mutallib Mohamad Shariff prosecuted the case while the accused was unrepresented.
