Kota Kinabalu: A 49-year-old Filipino without valid documents was jailed five months and fined RM2,500 or two months in jail by the Magistrate’s Court, here,Friday for threatening to kill his former wife.
Al Basir Hajirul pleaded guilty before Magistrate Wan Farrah Farriza Wan Ghazali to committing the offence at about 11am on May 6 at the veranda of a house in Kampung Suang Parai, Manggatal.
He was charged under Section 506 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum seven-year jail term, a fine, or both upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Noor Hafizah Anggu told the court that the woman had gone to Al Basir’s house on April 27 to attend their only child’s wedding.
After the wedding, she asked to leave but Al Basir refused, saying he wanted to reconcile and claiming they had never divorced.
The woman remained at the house out of fear for about a month. During that time, Al Basir allegedly threatened to hunt her down if she tried to leave and restricted her movements.
On May 6, when she attempted to escape, Al Basir became angry and threatened to “cut” her if she insisted on leaving, the court heard.
The woman eventually escaped on May 11 when Al Basir left the house on a motorcycle. She took an e-hailing service to her aunt’s house in Kampung Darau before lodging a police report.
Police later arrested Al Basir at Kampung Suang Parai at about 3pm the same day.
The court was also told that a witness saw the woman crying and appearing traumatised.
Counsel Lim Ming Zoong, representing Al Basir, appealed for a lenient sentence, saying his client worked as a labourer.
However, Noor Hafizah sought a deterrent sentence, stressing that the woman had been kept at the house for almost a month and remained traumatised.
The court was also informed that Al Basir was serving a four-month jail sentence for an Immigration offence involving illegal stay in the country.
Wan Farrah ordered him to serve the five-month sentence from the date of his arrest and to be referred to the Immigration Department after completing the sentence.
