KUCHING: A 39-year-old man was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and eight strokes of the cane by the Sessions Court here today after he was found guilty of deliberately ramming a man with a car, causing injuries that resulted in the victim losing a limb.
Sessions Court Judge Musli Abdul Hamid convicted Pevenoe Ronald under Section 326 of the Penal Code after finding that the defence had failed to raise any reasonable doubt against the prosecution’s case.
The court ordered the imprisonment to commence from the date of his arrest on July 17, 2023.
Section 326 of the Penal Code provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years, and the offender is also liable to a fine or whipping.
According to the charge, Pevenoe voluntarily caused grievous hurt to a 44-year-old man by using a car, an instrument likely to cause death, during an incident at the traffic lights in Taman Desa Wira at about 9:00 pm on July 15, 2023.
The court heard that earlier that day, the victim and another friend had been helping a man to search for his wife after the man contacted them for assistance.
After failing to locate her at several locations, they spotted the accused leaving Marina Inn and approaching the woman’s parked vehicle before driving away.
The victim and his companion followed the accused towards Jalan Batu Kawa near the Desa Wira junction, where a collision occurred between the two vehicles.
When the victim got out of his vehicle intending to speak to the accused, the accused allegedly reversed his car, forcing the victim onto the roadside pavement before deliberately accelerating towards him and striking his right ankle, causing him to fall.
The accused then reversed again and rammed the companion’s vehicle before fleeing the scene.
The injured victim was later taken to the Emergency Unit of Sarawak General Hospital for treatment.
The prosecution submitted that the victim eventually suffered a traumatic amputation, leaving him permanently disabled and unable to work as before.
During mitigation, Arthur said his client respected the court’s decision and pleaded for justice tempered with mercy.
He submitted that the incident arose from highly exceptional circumstances, arguing there had been no malice or premeditation to cause harm.
Counsel also told the court that the accused had no previous history of violence, was single, and was the sole breadwinner supporting his elderly mother.
He further said the accused was unemployed and had no financial means, adding that even the bail for the case had not been posted.
He appealed for any compensation ordered to be reasonable and within the accused’s ability to pay.
The prosecution, however, urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, stressing the gravity of the offence, the permanent injuries suffered by the victim, and the significant loss of income resulting from the incident.
It also applied for RM25,000 in compensation under Section 426 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), citing the victim’s permanent disability.
In delivering the sentence, Judge Musli said he had carefully considered the facts of the case, the mitigation advanced by the defence, and the prosecution’s submissions before balancing the interests of the accused against the wider public interest.
The judge said the serious injuries sustained by the victim warranted a substantial custodial sentence.
However, the court dismissed the prosecution’s application for compensation under Section 426(1)(c)(f) of the Criminal Procedural Code (CPC) after finding that the accused lacked the financial means to compensate the victim and that such an order would unfairly burden his elderly mother and other family members.
The trial spanned almost three years, with the prosecution calling six witnesses while the defence called two witnesses before the court returned its guilty verdict.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutors, Chuah Kai Sheng and Asmawi Haqim Mokhtar, while the accused was represented by Arthur Liang Dawat.
