MELAKA: A 29-year-old e-hailing driver who reportedly resorted to crime to pay off his girlfriend's debts has pleaded guilty to robbing and injuring a senior citizen here.
Melvin Yen Wei Shern, 29, admitted to the offences when the charges were read to him before Sessions judge Rohatul Akmar Abdullah in Ayer Keroh on Friday (May 30).
According to the charge sheet, the offences were committed at a goldsmith's shop in Kampung Jawa, Melaka Tengah district, at about 11am on May 22.
He was charged with robbing and intentionally causing hurt to Koh Kim Lye, 70, under Section 394 of the Penal Code.
The offence carries a maximum jail term of 20 years with a fine or caning upon conviction.
DPP Wardah Ishhar urged the court to set bail at RM20,000, to which Yen's lawyer Kent Tan Chow Teng did not object.
The court then fixed June 10 for sentencing.
When met after the proceedings, Tan said his client's family declined to post bail as they wanted him to learn his lesson.
He said a relative informed him that Yen was trying to settle a debt of about RM200,000, which his girlfriend was said to owe to three illegal moneylenders in another state.
