Eshyam and Siti (centre) being led away after they were sentenced by the Sessions Court yesterday.
KOTA KINABALU: A man and a woman who were jointly charged with robbing a taxi driver were yesterday ordered to spend a decade behind bars by the Sessions Court here.
Judge Azreena Aziz also ordered that the man, Eshyam Osman, 39, be given one stroke of the cane for the crime he committed with Siti Shazwani Zainuddin, 21.
In mitigation, counsel Mohd Nor, who represented the accused, said both his clients need to care for their families.
In reply, deputy public prosecutor Husna Abdul Halim pushed for a heavy deterrent sentence on both accused persons, including a long custodial sentence with whipping.
“Such a punishment does not only serve as a deterrent to the accused persons, but also as a reminder to the public at large not to commit such crimes,” said Husna, who contended that the offence of gang robbery is serious and grave.
A crime of this nature is rampant and may result in injuries, she said, and sometimes even death.
Husna further submitted that in this particular case, the first accused had a knife with him, which caused instant fear of death or hurt to the victim, who was made to sit with the accused in the taxi during the whole incident.
Even though the second accused did not carry a dangerous weapon, nor verbally threaten the victim, the prosecution submits that because the second accused had lured the victim to a secluded place and informed the first accused of their location, she allowed the crime to take place, said Husna
She also said the victim was deeply traumatised by the incident, and was so afraid that he was not able to work for a month as a taxi driver at the airport.
Moreover, even though the taxi was recovered, the victim’s cash of RM2,600 has not been recovered till today, said Husna.
Both accused persons also have a history of absconding bail, she said, whereby they were unable to be located from July 27 last year to October 30 of the same year.
Furthermore, Husna urged the court to take public interest into paramount consideration, which demands for such crimes with threats of violence to be punished severely.
Following the sentencing, the court also rejected the defence’s application for a stay of execution pending an appeal at the High Court, except for the single stroke of whipping on Eshyam.
In December last year, the duo claimed trial to robbing the 58-year-old victim of RM2,600, in front of Cyber Square in Tanjung Aru here at about 12.40am on November 8, 2014.
Upon conviction, the offence under Section 395 of the Penal Code is punishable with a maximum jail of 20 years with whipping, each.