KUCHING: A man charged with gang robbery will be tried in a Sessions Court here on Feb 2.
The 37-year-old accused, Haider Gobel, appeared before presiding Judge Amelati Parnel who maintained the trial date when the case was first mentioned last year.
Yesterday the case was mentioned for pretrial case management.
The jobless accused was charged with robbing a 19-year-old Indonesian woman of her handbag containing personnel documents and cosmetics kit at a roadside heading to Kuching City South Council (MBKS) at about 10pm on Nov 3 last year with one person still at large.
Haider had claimed trial to the charge under Section 395 of the Penal Code which provides a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and whipping upon conviction.
The complainant said she was walking by the roadside at night when two strangers on a motorbike approached her. The pillion rider got down from the machine to grab her handbag. She struggled to stop the suspect and shouted for help.
Some members of the public who heard her came to the rescue and caught the suspect red-handed. The suspect was later identified as Haider.
The co-accused who managed to escape was said to be Haider’s brother, according to initial investigation. DPP Stella Augustine Druce prosecuted.