Men get jail, caning for gang robbery in Kuching armed with a machete

KUCHING (Jan 23): Two men were each sentenced here today to nine years in prison and seven strokes of the rotan for committing gang robbery while armed with a machete.

Sessions Court Judge Iris Awen Jon convicted Mohamad Zaidel Sidi and Khairul Amirin Mahmud, aged 40 and 24 respectively, on their own guilty pleas and ordered for their jail sentences to take effect from today.

They were charged under Section 395 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 397 of the same Code, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years and caning upon conviction.

They committed the offence at an eatery in Kuching City Mall around 3am on Jan 8, 2024.

According to the facts of the case, the owner of the eatery was informed by his Indonesian worker that two men entered the eatery armed with a machete.

The two men took three mobile phones and RM160 from the worker and proceeded to leave the premises in a red car.

A police report was lodged, leading to Mohamad Zaidel’s arrest on Jan 8 at around 11pm, while Khairul was arrested on Jan 11 at 2.30pm.

The investigation found Mohamad Zaidel had brought the machete to intimidate workers in the eatery during the robbery.

He took two mobile phones, while Khairul left with one mobile phone.

The case was prosecuted by DPP Ruvinasini Pandian, while Khairul was represented by counsel Ralph Lee and Mohamad Zaidel was unrepresented by legal counsel.

Mohamad Zaidel is already serving time in prison for a drug-related case where he was sentenced to a five-year jail term and one stroke of the rotan.