The Intermediate Court yesterday handed a four years and six months’ jail sentence and 12 strokes of the cane to an 18-year-old for committing robbery at a convenience store early this year.
Prosecutor Kamal Ariffin Ismail revealed Muhammad Danish Iliya Zunnarain Al-Mukminin bin Abdullah on January 10, the defendant went to a convenient store in Kampong Mata-Mata at 2am in a car.
He took a can of drink and asked the 25-year-old shopkeeper if he could get a discount. She refused and the defendant took a box of drinks for 70 cents instead.
He also got 10 cents worth of sweets, and asked for a plastic bag to carry his purchase and his mobile phone. He suddenly took a knife from his back pocket and pointed it at the shopkeeper.
The youth asked the victim to hand over money from the cash register, which she did. She then placed BND310 in a white plastic bag.
Before leaving, he tried to snatch the shopkeepers mobile phone, which led to a struggle between them. After failing to secure the phone, the youth fled the store and drove away.
The shopkeeper reported the incident to her colleague, who informed the manager. A police report was lodged and he was arrested the following day.
During the court proceedings, counsel Daud Ismail pleaded for the youth to be placed under probation order, citing his young age and lack of criminal record. Judge Harnita Zelda Skinner weighed the seriousness of the offence, and believed the crime warranted a deterrent sentence. – Fadley Faisal
