Trio jailed for breakout, injuring cops

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KOTA KINABALU: Three unemployed men were each jailed a total of 21 months by the Magistrate’s Court here yesterday for escaping from Karamunsing police station lock-up and on two charges of injuring two policemen nine months ago.

Magistrate Herlina Muse imposed the sentence on Herry Kudan, 28, Irwan Tandi Lola, 28, and Indy Ibnul, 27, after they pleaded guilty to all their joint charges.

On the first count, the three accused persons were each sentenced to 11 months for escaping from the police lock-up on April 30.

They were convicted under Section 224 of the Penal Code, which provides for a maximum jail of two years or with a fine or with both.

On the second and the third charges, each of them received another five months’ jail, respectively, for hurting two police personnel at the same time and place.

Each of the charge under Section 323 of the Penal Code carries one year’s jail and a fine or with.

Senior Federal Counsel Jamil Aripin told the court that the complainant who was on duty was checking the list of detainees on a computer.

He then heard the voice of one of the detainees from the lock-up, asking him to open the cell door because he (detainee) wanted to go to the toilet.

The complainant then took the keys and opened the door, but at the same time he heard another door of the cell being opened.

He saw another detainee coming out of the cell who said that he also wanted to go to the toilet and the complainant found the cell door unlocked.

However, the complainant refused him permission and ordered the detainee to go back to his cell.

While the complainant was locking the other cell, suddenly several detainees dashed out of the other cell and tried to strangle him from behind.

At the same time, the other detainees stepped on the complainant’s body and tried to tie him up with their lock-up purple uniform but failed after the complainant fought back.

Then one of them pushed his hand into the complainant trousers’ pocket to look for the keys to the cell doors.

The detainee managed to open one of the cell doors and before he fled from the place he attacked another policeman who was on duty at the main door of the lock-up.

Three of the detainees who tried to run away were rearrested while the others managed to flee.

In mitigation, the trio pleaded for a light sentence and requested their jail sentences to run from the date of their arrest.

Jamil pressed for a heavier sentence taking into account the gravity of the offence.

He submitted that the accused had acted violently without mercy on the complainant, therefore he urged the court not to show leniency to the accused persons.

Herlina ordered Herry, Irwan and Indy to serve their jail sentences consecutively, and Irwan who is a foreigner was also ordered to be referred to the Immigration Department after serving sentence.

Meanwhile, their co-accused Fadzli @ Pali Zainuddin, 31, pleaded not guilty to committing similar offences at the same time and place while another accomplice Mohd Hanafie Patrick, 22, did not turn up in court.

Herlina set Jan 31 for case management for Fadzli and the set the same date for Mohd Hanafie to review his summons for not attending the court proceedings.

Fadzli was ordered to be held in custody under Section 259 of the Criminal Procedure Code, pending disposal of his case.

Deputy public prosecutor Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin assisted Jamil while all the accused persons were unrepresented.