KUALA LUMPUR: A father of three, who held a shop assistant at knife point in a robbery earlier this month, was sentenced to seven years jail by the Sessions Court today.
Judge Mohd Zulbahrin Zainuddin handed down the sentence to Badlishah Adnan, 39, after the accused pleaded guilty to the offence.
The court ordered for his jail term to run from the date of his arrest on March 18.
Zulbahrin, who is a stall assistant, was charged with robbing Indonesian shopkeeper Ahmad Sonate Usman, 29, of RM600 belonging to the Rosco Global Resource retail store, while armed with a knife.
He committed the offence at the shop in Jalan Raja Uda, Kampung Baru at 12.30pm on March 17.
His charge under Section 392/397 of the Penal Code carries a maximum sentence of 14 years jail and liable to a fine and whipping, if convicted.
Zulbahrin was also charged with another count of failing to present his identification card to a police officer under Rule 25(1)(n) of the National Registration Regulations 1990 in front of a shop at the same place at 9pm on March 18.
He was fined RM1,200 for the offence and was ordered to serve five months jail if he fails to pay the fine.
In pleading leniency, the accused, who was unrepresented, said he needed to take care of his three children.
Deputy public prosecutor Nurakmal Farhan Aziz urged for a deterrent sentence, saying that it was a serious offence.
According to the facts of the case, Zulbahrin, brandishing a knife, had approached the victim, who was sorting out items in the shop, and instructed the shopkeeper to open the cash register.
Afraid of being harmed, the victim followed the accused's instructions and opened the register before the accused took the money and fled.