KOTA KINABALU: A man was sentenced to five years' jail and one stroke of the rotan for carrying a 'kerambit' (small curved knife) in a public place.
Sessions Court judge Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim meted out the sentence on Mohd Zaifol Bahri Julhari, 32, after he pleaded guilty to the charge against him today.
Mohd Zaifol was nabbed for possessing the dangerous weapon without authorisation on May 29 at 6.30pm in front of the CIMB Bank in the Api-Api Centre here.
The facts of the case stated that the accused was nabbed upon a tip-off from the public.
During the inspection, police found the weapon inside his sling bag. The accused then handed over the 17.5cm weapon to the police.
In mitigation, the accused, who was unrepresented, pleaded for a lenient sentence, saying that his elderly mother was wheelchair-bound and positive Covid-19.
Deputy public prosecutor Dacia Jane Romanus, however, urged for a deterrent sentence saying that the accused had committed a serious offence by carrying the weapon without authorisation in public.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated case at the magistrate's court, a businesswoman charged with outraging the modesty of a policeman in a viral video by shouting at him at a roadblock here will stand trial on July 4 and 5 next year.
Magistrate Lovely Natasha Charles fixed the hearing dates for Nur Jawaheer Ismail, 34, during pre-trial case management today.
Nur Jawaheer had, on Nov 18, claimed trial to a charge against her under Section 509 of the Penal Code which provides a maximum five years jail or fine, or both upon conviction.
She was alleged to have insulted the modesty of Corporal Maslin Samih by saying "It's lucky that you're a man, if you're a woman, I would have already stripped you … I'll pounce on you".
The charge stated that her words were heard by another policeman on June 1 at 5.30pm at a roadblock in Jalan Kepayan here.
Deputy public prosecutor Dk Afiqah Alya Ak Johari prosecuted while counsel Luke Ressa Balang represented the accused.
Nur Jawaheer is currently on bail.