PUTRAJAYA: A former fish breeder who committed a spate of robberies while armed with dangerous weapons, including a samurai sword, will serve 17 years in jail and receive seven strokes of the rotan.
A three-member bench comprising Justices Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid today allowed the prosecution’s appeal to reinstate the Sessions Court’s decision to impose 17 years’ imprisonment and seven strokes of the rotan on Tengku Izwan Shah Tengku Azman.
The court overturned the High Court’s decision, which had reduced Tengku Izwan’s sentence from 17 years to 11 years.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Allan Suman Pillai confirmed the court’s decision when contacted.
The 37-year-old had pleaded guilty at the Sessions Court to committing armed robbery and gang robbery using dangerous weapons in Tanjung Rambutan, Beruas and Ipoh, Perak, between July 23 and 26, 2013.
For the first charge, the Sessions Court in 2024 sentenced him to four years’ jail and two strokes of the rotan, while for the second, he received five years’ jail and one stroke of the rotan, with both sentences ordered to run concurrently.
The court also sentenced him to six years’ jail and two strokes of the rotan each for the third and fourth charges, with the sentences ordered to run consecutively to the first two charges, bringing the total to 17 years’ imprisonment and seven strokes of the rotan.
Following Tengku Izwan’s appeal, the Ipoh High Court in October last year maintained the jail term for the first and second charges.
However, it ordered the sentences for the third and fourth charges to run concurrently, reducing the total imprisonment to 11 years while maintaining the caning sentence.
In proceedings on Thursday (April 23), Allan submitted that the offences committed were separate and distinct criminal acts carried out at different times and locations, and against different victims, adding that the respondent had used dangerous weapons, including a knife, machete and samurai sword, during the robberies.
"The use of dangerous weapons in this series of robberies shows that the respondent is a danger to the public. The concurrent sentence totalling 11 years for four charges of armed robbery is manifestly inadequate,” he said. – Bernama
