Kota Kinabalu: A 23-year-old jobless man was sentenced to seven years’ jail and ordered to get a stroke of the cane for robbing a woman of her handphone with a knife.
Sessions Court Judge Azreena Aziz meted out the sentence to Mohd Sikri Bidin who pleaded guilty to the charge against him on Monday.
He robbed one Mastinah Gapur, 42, of the handphone worth RM1,200 by using the weapon at 7.05am on July 22 this year at the Bukit Tampalagus in Kg Melalia, Sipitang.
The offence, under Section 392/397 of the Penal Code, carries a jail term of up to 14 years, and whipping, on conviction.
The court ordered Mohd Sikri to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest and also ordered the handphone to be returned to the owner.
During mitigation, Mohd Sikri who was not represented, asked for leniency saying that he was desperate at the time as he could not buy food.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Adibah Saiful urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence on the grounds that it was a serious offence and during the commission of the crime, he had used a knife to rob the victim.
The court heard that the incident happened when the victim was hiking alone at the area when an unknown man who rode a motorcycle, approached her, pointed a knife and then asked her to surrender her handphone.
The victim obliged out of fear for her safety.
The man later identified as Mohd Sikri then fled the scene after taking the victim’s handphone.
Following a police report, Mohd Sikri was arrested on July 25 this year and the handphone which belonged to the victim was recovered.
On July 27 this year, the victim was called to identify Mohd Sikri as the person who had robbed her.
* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss.
* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
