Kota Kinabalu: A 24-year-old man was jailed eight years and ordered to get a stroke of the cane for causing hurt to a girl while robbing her.
Sessions Court Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan meted out the sentence to Sharulnizam Ahmad who maintained his guilty plea when his case was brought up for facts and sentencing on Thursday.
Sharulnizam had injured the girl while robbing her of the 16-year-old’s handphone at 8pm on Jan 15 this year near the Kedai Lucky Store in Sulaman Central, near here.
The offence under Section 394 of the Penal Code provides for a jail term of up to 20 years, and whipping, upon conviction.
The court ordered Sharulnizam to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest.
During mitigation, Sharulnizam who was not represented, asked for leniency saying that he needed to look after his elderly mother.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Najihah Farhana Che Awang urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence on the grounds that Sharunizam’s action had traumatised the victim.
Najihah said the sentence was not only to serve as a lesson to Sharulnizam but also the public at large.
She added that the rampancy of the case should also be considered.
The court heard that while the girl and her friends were waiting for an e-hailing driver to fetch them home, a car driven by an unknown man stopped in front of them.
The driver, later identified as Sharulnizam, pretended wanting to lend the girl’s handphone and while the girl was dialling the number given by Sharulnizam, he grabbed the handphone and fled the scene.
The girl tried to struggle with Sharulnizam and take back her handphone but to no avail.
During the incident, the girl suffered injuries on her face, body and leg.
The girl received treatment at Queen Elizabeth Hospital 1 and subsequently lodged a police report.
Sharulnizam was arrested on Jan 19 this year and the handphone was recovered.
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