MELAKA: A 40-year-old man who impersonated a policeman from the Federal police headquarters was sentenced to six months' jail by the magistrate's court today.
Unemployed M. Gunalan pleaded guilty before magistrate Mohd Firdaus Saleh to committing the offence at the back of the court's police office here about 9.40am on Nov 2.
According to the facts, administrative police officer Mohd Azlan Md Zahar spotted Gunalan seated on a bench at the back of the police office.
When approached, Gunalan claimed that he was a policeman from the Bukit Aman police headquarters and he had to inspect police officers at the Melaka Court Complex in Ayer Keroh.
Suspecting something was amiss, the officer asked the suspect to produce his identification card.
However, his identity card did not have the serial code reserved for police personnel.
He was then asked to produce his police authority card but failed to do so, saying he had left in it Kuala Lumpur.
He was then referred to the prosecuting officer, assistant superintendent Nora Yaacob.
Upon questioning by Nora, Gunalan maintained that he was a police officer, telling her that she should check his identity with Bukit Aman to confirm his status.
However, checks on his personal particulars revealed that the suspect had been sentenced to 20 months' jail in 2015 for criminal intimidation.
She then instructed the officer to arrest Gunalan.
Deputy public prosecutor N. Sivashangari suggested a deterrent sentence for Gunalan who had committed a serious offence.
Gunalan, who was unrepresented, asked for a lenient sentence as he had to take care of his aged parents and he was unemployed.