KUALA LUMPUR: A former nightclub bouncer was sentenced to five years' jail by the Sessions Court here on Wednesday (June 3) after being found guilty of beating a man and blinding him in the right eye at a nightclub 10 years ago.
Judge Mazuliana Abdul Rashid meted out the sentence to Jamsari Idris, 53, after finding that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubts at the end of its case.
Jamsari was charged with causing grievous bodily harm to Muhammad Ramdhan Aidil Norsham, 28, at a nightclub in Dang Wangi here at 3.30am on Nov 6, 2016.
The charge was filed under Section 325 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing grievous hurt, which provides for a maximum jail term of seven years and a fine upon conviction.
Judge Mazuliana, in reading out her decision, said the court rejected the defence submissions regarding the victim's failure to name the accused in the police report.
She said the fact that the victim had identified the accused as the one who punched him was beyond doubt.
According to the judge, the defence evidence stating that the accused had tried to calm the victim during the incident was also found to be unreasonable.
"During cross-examination, the accused failed to detail how he calmed the victim and only replied 'I don't know' and admitted that there was no supporting evidence to refute the claim that he hit the victim.
"The court finds the accused's defence to be only a hollow denial without a reasonable explanation and not a legally valid defence," she said.
The court also ordered the accused to serve his prison sentence with immediate effect, rejecting the defence application for a stay of execution pending an appeal at the High Court.
Earlier, the court heard and considered the victim impact statement which detailed Ramdhan's difficulties after losing his sight, including the inability to ride a motorcycle or drive a car as he could before.
"After the incident, my life was affected. I was involved in an accident when the motorcycle I was riding hit a pothole and broke three of my toes.
"I was also laid off and tried to find another job at 12 companies, but did not receive any response.
"I then opened a nasi lemak stall with my wife and earned between RM3,000 and RM4,000 a month and received a monthly assistance of RM400 from the Social Welfare Department.
"I want to earn more money because I support my wife, three children and parents," he said, urging the court to give the accused a proportionate sentence. – Bernama
