Costylie-uhun Simpol (left) arrives at the Kuching Court Complex today.
KUCHING (July 1): The Sessions Court here has discharged and acquitted Costylie-uhun Simpol for an alleged gang armed robbery today.
The 31-year-old was discharged and acquitted by Judge Afidah Abdul Rahman without being called to defend himself.
The decision was made after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against the accused in the final stages of the prosecution.
It is understood that one of the important witnesses in this case, the female victim who was directly involved in the robbery, failed to appear in court despite being given a subpoena.
The victim, who hailed from Indonesia, had also gone back to her country in December 2021.
Based on the charge, Costylie-uhun, along with another man who is still at large, were charged with committing a gang robbery at a grocery store in Jalan Penrissen, Mile 7 here and stealing RM130 cash belonging to the shop while armed with a knife on November 11, 2021, around 10pm.
The charge was framed under Section 395 of the Penal Code read together Section 397 of the same Code which provides for a jail term up to 20 years and whipping, upon conviction.
Based on the facts of the case, the cashier (victim) informed her supervisor (complainant) that she was approached by two men who pointed a knife towards her, before taking the cash from the register.
An investigation revealed that the victim managed to identify the accused as his wallet, which had his identity card in it, had fallen onto the floor during the robbery.
The case was handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Aiman Mutallib Mohamad Shariff while the accused was unrepresented by a counsel.