Kota Kinabalu: A 47-year-old man was sentenced to eight years’ jail and ordered to get two strokes of the cane for robbing a 24-hour outlet personnel.
Sessions Court Judge Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim handed the sentence to Nelson Labansin who pleaded guilty to the charge against him, Thursday.
Nelson had robbed the 22-year-old man at 5.10am on July 2, 2024 at the Orange Heritage Plaza, Luyang, and made off with RM653.50, five boxes of cigarettes and five units of electronic cigarettes (vapes) from the outlet.
He committed the offence together with one accomplice still at large.
The offence, under Section 395 of the Penal Code, carries a jail term of up to 20 years, and whipping, on conviction.
The court ordered Nelson to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest.
During mitigation, Nelson, who was not represented, asked for leniency.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Eugenie Meredith Gilbert urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence.
The court heard that on the day of the incident, the duo knocked on the glass door while signalling that they wanted to buy a drink.
The victim then opened the locked door and the men, one of them later identified as Nelson, entered the shop, took a drink, and pretended to pay for it at the counter, which was attended to by the victim.
The accused’s accomplice also entered the shop and headed toward the counter where the victim was.
The accomplice then showed a white-handled knife, approximately 10 inches long. He threatened to hurt the victim with the knife and demanded money.
The scared victim then opened the cash register and the accomplice took RM653.50 while Nelson took five boxes of cigarettes and one box containing five units of vapes.
After the duo took the money, cigarette boxes and electronic cigarettes, Nelson and his accomplice exited the shop and fled to a car with the registration number SAA6527.
The accused was subsequently arrested on July 24, 2024 following a police report lodged by the victim.
During the identification parade, the victim identified Nelson as the person who robbed him.
