Masked robber jailed seven years, caning for five-minute crime spree

KUCHING: The Sessions Court here sentenced a man to seven years in prison and seven lashes of the cane for robbing three men in under five minutes at MJC Batu Kawa earlier this month.

Awang Mazheli Awang Jadid, 30, pleaded guilty before judges Musli Ab Hamid and Saiful Bahari Adzmi to three charges under Section 392 of the Penal Code.

Upon conviction, it carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years and a fine or lashes of the cane.

According to the amended first and second charges, he robbed a 28-year-old man of an iPhone 14 Pro Max and stole a gas cylinder from an eatery in front of the restaurant between 4.50am and 4.54am on the same day.

For these two offenses, Judge Saiful sentenced him to seven years in prison and two lashes of the cane for each charge.

Minutes later, Awang Mazheli robbed a 53-year-old man of an Oppo A15 phone in front of a nearby laundry shop at 4.55am. For this, Judge Musli sentenced him to seven years in prison and three strokes of the cane.

The court ordered him to serve the sentences concurrently.

Based on the case facts, he was dressed in black and masked, using a fake gun to intimidate his victims.

Following the crimes, a police report was filed and Awang Mazheli was arrested on Oct 15. A CCTV footage from the scene that captured the robberies, confirmed his involvement.

Investigations also revealed that he used a vehicle with a stolen license plate, parking it in front of the premises before entering to commit the robberies and fleeing shortly after.

In addition to the stolen phones and gas cylinder, police also seized a white Joker mask believed to have been used in the crimes.

Deputy public prosecutors Muhammad Asymawi Ghazali and Cynthia Emmelda Jerry prosecuted the case while Awg Mazheli was unrepresented by counsel.