Duo jailed five years for unlawful possession of knives, axe

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal here on Friday (Jan 6) upheld the five-year jail sentence on two men for possession of an axe and knives in a public place without valid authorisation.

A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals by Mohd Saufi Kembaren Zulfri, 29, and Muhammad Aiman Hakimi Hashim, 24, against their conviction and jail sentence for possession of offensive weapons in a public place without lawful authority.

Justice Datuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said, who led the panel, said the court could not find any error by the lower court.

The other two judges were Justices Datuk Wira Ahmad Nasfy Yasin and Datuk Hashim Hamzah.

Mohd Saufi, a food store operator and Muhammad Aiman, an unemployed, were ordered to serve their jail sentences from Friday. They were previously released on RM20,000 bail with one surety pending disposal of their appeals.

Mohd Saufi was found guilty by the Sessions Court on Sept 30, 2021 for possession of an axe and two knives, while Muhammad Aiman was found guilty of possessing a knife.

They were charged under the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958.

Both were sentenced to five years jail for the offence committed at a project site in Air Panas, Setapak, Wangsa Maju District, Kuala Lumpur at 1am on July 18, 2020.

They lost their appeals at the High Court on June 15 last year.

According to the facts of the case, policemen patrolling the area received information from the public that there was a fight near the PPR Bonus Air Panas plant in Setapak.

A team of six policemen arrived at the area and one of them noticed both men were acting in a suspicious manner. They then conducted checks on the men and found two knives and an axe in Mohd Saufi's bag and a knife in the pocket of Muhammad Aiman's trousers.

Lawyer B. Puvarasan represented both men, while deputy public prosecutor Wong Poi Yoke appeared for the prosecution. - Bernama