(From second left) Sainal, Romi and Dandi being escorted by police after sentencing.
KUCHING (May 26): An Indonesian labourer was sentenced to six years in prison after he pleaded guilty in the Sessions Court here yesterday to dishonestly receiving property stolen in the commission of a gang-robbery.
Sainal, 21, from Pontianak was charged with two counts of possessing stolen property in the form of a smartphone, a necklace, two rings and RM600 in cash, which were the spoils of a gang robbery committed by two other men against a 61-year-old housewife.
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He was charged under Section 412 of the Penal Code which provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine.
The accused was caught in possession of the stolen items at the Serikin Sector, Kampung Stass, Bau at about 4.15am on May 10, 2021.
He is said to have masterminded the robbery which was committed by two countrymen.
In the same courtroom, the two accomplices, Dandi Adytia Firhandha, 22, and Romi, 21, were each sentenced to eight years in prison and four strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to committing gang robbery.
The two accused were jointly charged under Section 395 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 397 of the same code, to robbing the housewife while armed with a meat cleaver.
They committed the crime on May 9 at 4pm at Kuching City Mall.
In mitigation, Sainal told the court that he was forced to commit the crime as he desperately needed money to help his father who is suffering from lung cancer.
Dandi and Romi, meanwhile, only made a brief appeal for a lighter sentence.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ruthra Raj however urged the court to impose a heavy sentence, saying that Sainal should have made a living in a proper way and not by robbing others of their property.