Convicted robber has nothing to say during mitigation
KUCHING: “I have nothing to say.”
That was all Mohamad Hasrul Seliman, 33, said when asked by a Sessions Court judge yesterday on what he had to say in mitigation after being found guilty of committing robbery two years ago.
Judge Timothy Finlayson Joel then sentenced him to eight years in prison and three strokes of the rotan for robbing a 24hour convenience store at Jalan Petanak here on May 25, 2015 at 4.12am.
He was armed with a parang during the robbery, which was committed with another person still at large.
Timothy said the accused’s defence failed to raise reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case.
“Robbery is a serious offence and the accused was seen using a parang, which is a deadly weapon, and the act was caught on CCTV. It was life-threatening as there was fear of instant death.
“Though the amount of money involved was only RM150, nine packs of cigarettes were taken, the facts remain that the offence merits the deterrent sentence,” he said when delivering the judgement.
Timothy noted that the accused had six criminal cases recorded, and out of that number, two cases were presided by him.
Hasrul was previously convicted of two separate robbery cases, where he was sentenced to eight and 18 years in prison respectively.
His latest jail term of eight years will run consecutively with the second sentence of 18 years.
“I believe that with the range of time in prison, it will help him to be a reformed person and to turn over a new leaf,” added Timothy.
Hasrul appeared calm when the verdict was handed down.
DPP Haresh Prakash prosecuted while Hasrul appeared unrepresented.