SIBU: The High Court here has upheld the sentence imposed by the Sessions Court on two men who pleaded guilty to gang robbery targeting senior citizens.
In dismissing the appeals by Peter Tiong, 30, and Steward Aming Galang, 26, on Friday (March 13(), Justice Alvin Leong Yin Yuan affirmed the lower court's decision to sentence each man to 24 years’ jail and eight strokes of the cane.
The duo had appealed to have their sentences reduced from 24 years to 20.
On Nov 1, 2024, they pleaded guilty to four charges of gang robbery under Section 391 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 395.
The Sessions Court then sentenced them to six years’ jail and two strokes of the cane for each charge, with the prison terms to run consecutively for a total of 24 years.
In their appeal, both accused argued that their guilty plea should have greater mitigating weight, and also raised the issue of the totality principle in sentencing.
Among the matters raised were claims that some of the assailants had been masked, the victims were elderly, and that not all the stolen property had been recovered.
However, Justice Leong said these assertions were too vague to establish any clear or effective line of defence that would justify greater weight being given to the guilty plea.
The judge also noted that the victims were aged between 70 and 79 years when they lodged police reports.
While the appellants argued that their guilty plea spared the victims from having to testify in court, Justice Leong said this factor carried little weight as the avoidance of a trial was common to all guilty pleas.
He added that the victims’ advanced age in fact constituted an aggravating factor that could justify a harsher sentence.
He further ruled that the Sessions Court judge was correct in imposing separate and consecutive sentences as the four offences arose from separate incidents committed on different dates, at different locations and against different victims.
He said the harm caused by the offences was cumulative and therefore warranted an aggregate sentence exceeding the maximum penalty for a single offence.
Justice Leong also observed that although the appellants were relatively young at the time they were charged and convicted, this factor did not work in their favour when compared with the age of their victims.
"One of the key aspects of Asian culture is respect for the elderly. For relatively young persons to victimise someone more than twice their age is, to my mind, abhorrent," he said.
Justice Leong added that although the appellants had suggested reducing their aggregate sentence from 24 to 20 years, the appeal process should not be treated as an exercise in bargaining.
He said the court found no factual error or error in principle in the decision of the Sessions Court judge, nor was the sentence manifestly excessive or inadequate.
"As bitter a pill as it may be for the appellants to swallow, they have already been shown all the mercy and leniency they deserve," he added, dismissing the appeal and affirming the lower court's sentence.
COMP
SABAH & SARAWAK / COURTS CRIME
