Indonesian snatch thief gets 30 months’ jail

KUALA LUMPUR: A 20-year-old Indonesian man was sentenced to 30 months’ jail and three whippings by a Sessions Court after admitting to grabbing a college student’s handbag in a restaurant last November.

Sessions Court judge Dr Gan Chee Keong passed the sentence on Muhammad Saiful Muhammud Zahri after he changed his plea to guilty during a mention here yesterday.

The court ordered the jail term to run from the date of arrest on Nov 14 last year.

The jobless man was accused of robbing Amirah Khalid, 25, of her handbag unarmed at an Arab restaurant in Sri Petaling here at 2.30am that day.

He was charged under Section 392 of the Penal Code which carries up to 14 years’ imprisonment with a fine or whipping, upon conviction.

Earlier, DPP Norakmal Farhan Aziz asked for a just sentence on grounds that robbery was a rampant crime and it affected a woman in this case.

However, Muhammad Saiful, who was unrepresented, pleaded for a lenient sentence, saying that he needed to take care of his family.

According to the statement of facts, the victim was eating at the restaurant on that day when she was suddenly approached by the accused who grabbed her handbag from the seat next to her.

The accused then fled but was nabbed by members of the public who gave chase.