PUTRAJAYA, July 12 — An unemployed man who is due to be released from prison next week had his sentence extended after the Court of Appeal enhanced his jail sentence from three years to 12 years on four counts of armed robbery at convenience stores.
A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal comprising Justices Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, Datuk Wira Ahmad Nasfy Yasin and Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali also ordered Mohammud Rezwan Zuhaimi to be whipped four times.
Justice Abdul Karim, who led the panel, ordered Mohammud Rezwan, 26, to serve his jail sentence from November 17, 2019, the date of his arrest.
In delivering the decision, he said the offences committed by Mohammud Rezwan, 26, were serious and that such crimes were rampant.
He said the Sessions Court and High Court had committed an error in imposing lighter sentences, adding that the offences committed by Mohammud Rezwan took place at different places and times and involved different victims.
Justice Abdul Karim also said the court was using its discretion to impose one stroke of the rotan on Mohammud Rezwan for each of the four charges.
The panel allowed the prosecution’s appeal for the three-year jail sentence meted out on Mohammud Rezwan for each of the four charges to run consecutively instead of concurrently.
On November 26, 2019, Mohammud Rezwan pleaded guilty at the Seremban Sessions Court to the four charges of robbing with parang four Seven-Eleven stores in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan on November 1, 2019, November 9, 2019, November 13, 2019 and November 14, 2019.
For the first count, he robbed Nureirana Muhamad Taufed at the 24-hour convenience store at Jalan Tuanku Antah Rahang and escaped with cash of RM110 and cigarettes worth RM336.26 and on the second count, he robbed Mohamad Naqi Fitri Sahudin at another convenience store at Jalan Tun Dr Ismail of RM160 cash and cookies and cigarettes valued at RM216.10.
On the third count, Mohammud Rezwan robbed Khairunnisa Azman at the same store at Jalan Tuanku Antah and fled with RM150 and for the fourth count, he robbed Ahmed Md Foysal at a convenience store at Jalan Tuanku Munawir Seremban and fled with RM186.45 cash and food items.
The Sessions Court sentenced him to one year’s jail for each count with the sentences to run concurrently, which means he would have to serve only one year’s imprisonment.
However, on May 5 last year, following an appeal by the prosecution, the High Court increased his jail term to three years’ imprisonment for each count, to run concurrently.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Zaki Asyraf Zubir asked for the three-year jail sentences to run consecutively, saying the offences committed involved different victims and at different places and times.
Lawyer Joseph Mathews, who was appointed by the National Legal Aid Foundation to represent Mohammud Rezwan, however, urged the court not to disturb the lower court’s decision as his client was almost finished serving his jail term and would be released next week.
— Bernama
