Jamel (left) and Bakri walk out from the courtroom after the sentencing.
KUCHING: The two men who escaped from police at Kuching High Court Complex last week have been fined RM1,500 each in default of a two-month jail by the Magistrate’s Court.
Ahmad Jamel Zaa’ba Muhammad, 23, of Kampung Tabuan Melayu and Bakri Suib, 39, of Kampung Lumba Kuda pleaded guilty before Magistrate Zulhairil Sulaiman yesterday.They were convicted under Section 224 of the Penal Code for escaping lawful police custody.
The offence was committed around 11am on May 24 at the court complex near Jalan Gersik in Petra Jaya here. The two were together with 17 other suspects brought to court for a remand order, which was granted for two days in connection with cyber gambling.
The court was told that prior to the escape attempt, there was a commotion as some of the suspects refused to be handcuffed. It was amidst the situation that Jamel and Bakri stormed out of the complex and fled.
Later at 2.23pm on same day, Jamel was apprehended at his house, while Bakri surrendered himself to police two days later.
It is learned that during the May 24 incident, there were only two police personnel escorting all the suspects.
Insp Hisham Junaidi, who prosecuted the case, urged the court to impose appropriate sentence on the two, judging by the seriousness of the offence, public interest and nature of the offence. Both Jamel and Bakri then pleaded for leniency in sentencing when mitigating.