Man jailed five years, caned for carrying samurai sword in public

KOTA KINABALU: A 25-year-old man will have to endure five years and six months in jail plus a stroke of whipping for carrying a 27-inch samurai sword in public.

Sessions Court judge Elsie Primus imposed the sentence on Alim Nasir Azirul after he maintained his guilty plea, when the case came up for facts and sentencing, yesterday.

She also ordered Alim, who has no identification documents, to be referred to the Immigration Department after serving his sentence.

Alim was arrested for the offence behind a hotel in Bandau, Kota Marudu at 1.15pm on March 1.

The offence was framed under Section 6(1) Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offences Weapons (amended 2014) Act 1958, which carries a jail term between five years and 10 years and whipping, upon conviction.

Based on facts of the case, the accused was found by police who were patrolling in the area.

He was asked to produce his identification document, but he failed and introduced himself to the police by not using his real name.

The police made a body inspection on the accused, but the accused tried to fight back and the samurai sword was found hidden in his shirt on his back. In mitigation, Alim, who was not represented, pleaded for leniency on the ground that he had been in prison for a long time.

Deputy public prosecutor Mas Izzaty Lokman, however, requested a deterrent sentence to be imposed against the accused for public interest and safety.

She also informed the court that the accused had another offence of illegal entry and was convicted on March 9 this year and jailed for five months jail and whipped once.

Elsie also ordered the accused to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest and to be referred to the Immigration Department after serving the sentence while the sword to be disposed of by the prosecution.