A policeman escorts Omar at the courthouse following proceedings.
KUCHING (March 14): The Sessions Court here today sentenced a 52-year-old man to five years in jail after he pleaded guilty to possessing a 48cm machete without a lawful purpose.
Judge Musli Ab Hamid imposed the sentence against Omar Karim from Kampung Bako Ulu for a charge framed under Subsection 7(1)(a) of the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapon Act 1958, which is punishable under the same Act.
The Subsection provides for an imprisonment term of between five and 10 years upon conviction.
Musli also ordered for the jail sentence to take effect from the date of Omar’s arrest.
Omar committed the offence at an unnumbered house in Kampung Seberang Bako at Jalan Bako here around 11.30am on March 10, 2023.
Based on the facts of the case, Omar ran amok while wielding a machete and attempted to hurt himself.
The incident prompted his niece to call the police hotline, which led to his arrest on the same day around 7.30pm.
The investigation of the case revealed that Omar had possessed a machete, which is listed under scheduled weapons, without a lawful purpose and had tried to hurt himself.
During mitigation, he appealed for a lenient sentence as he did odd jobs in the village to support his unemployed sister and niece.
However, deputy public prosecutor Norshafatihah Nor Azmi appealed for a deterrent sentence on the grounds of the gravity and rampancy of the case.
Omar was unrepresented by legal counsel.