Kota Kinabalu: A 34-year-old Filipino man and another man linked to “Geng Gurun” were each jailed 11 years and ordered to receive four strokes of the cane for robbing a 19-year-old woman of belongings worth RM105,000.
Sessions Court Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan sentenced Sahiron Redzgilul, 34, and Cyril John Paniah, 43, after both maintained their guilty pleas on Thursday.
The duo committed the gang robbery with two other accomplices who are still at large at a house in Taman Austral here at 6.45am on Aug 27.
They took several of the victim’s belongings, including a hybrid video game console, two handbags and a wallet.
The offence under Section 395 of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
During mitigation, both accused, who were unrepresented, asked the court for leniency, citing their respective responsibilities.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Shaferrah Mad Iskim urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, citing the seriousness and prevalence of the offence.
She submitted that the accused had used a screwdriver to threaten the victim and force her to surrender her belongings.
The victim was also traumatised by the incident and suffered losses amounting to RM105,000, the court heard.
According to the facts of the case, the victim was alone at her rented house when she heard a noise and later discovered that four unknown men had trespassed into the house and entered her room.
One of the men, later identified as Sahiron, pointed a screwdriver at her and threatened her, before asking her to hand over her money to another man identified as Cyril.
Meanwhile, the two other accomplices ransacked the house and took the victim’s belongings.
The four men then fled the scene.
Following a police report, Sahiron and Cyril were arrested on Oct 10.
A scuffle broke out between the duo and the police when they attempted to flee.
