Corpun file 25836 at www.corpun.com
The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 1 January 2015, p.20
Man gets nine years for posing as Johor royal
By Mohd Farhaan Shah
JOHOR BARU: A man was sentenced to nine years in jail and 16 strokes of the rotan by the magistrate court here for masquerading as a member of the Johor royalty to cheat five individuals of almost RM70,000.
The first nine charges accuse Mohd Firdaus Abdullah, 28, who claimed to be Tengku Putra Raja Sulaiman, of cheating Eisah Sulaiman, 61, between April 17 and Sept 10 by claiming to help her get aid from the palace for elderly citizens.
Eisah had handed over a total of RM32,080 to the accused, believing she would receive the necessary help from Mohd Firdaus, who was charged under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail sentence of not more than 10 years, a fine, and whipping upon conviction.
Mohd Firdaus pleaded guilty in front of magistrate Mohd Azlan Shah Mohd Allias who sentenced him to a year in jail with one stroke of the cane on each charge here yesterday.
In another magistrate court on the same day, he pleaded guilty to seven additional charges of cheating four other individuals.
Mohd Firdaus cheated Kamal Khairi Sulaiman, 29, three times in September through selling two used cars and a plot of land in exchange for RM4,950.
The accused, who was not represented, also duped Rogayah Sulaiman, 54, twice when she give him RM30,150 in exchange for aid for single mothers as well as land grants from the Johor palace.
He was also charged with cheating Mohd Hafiz Abdol Hadi, 31, on Oct 3 by offering to sell him a house for RM700.
The final charge accuses Mohd Firdaus of cheating Mohd Afandi Zakaria on Dec 10 by claiming he could help the victim get a low cost house for RM1,350.
Magistrate Salina Omar meted out a year in jail and a stroke of the cane for each offence, and ordered the sentence to run concurrently from Dec 30, the date of arrest.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chan Lee Lee and Noor Farhana Adham were the prosecutors.
Corpun file 25852 at www.corpun.com
The Borneo Post (Sabah edition), Kuching, 17 January 2015, p.6
Local, jailed for smartphone snatching, also given cane on appeal
KOTA KINABALU: A local man who was jailed 15 months for snatching a Samsung smartphone of a local woman, was also ordered to be whipped three times.
Judge Datuk Nurchaya Arshad made the decision on Mohd Afiq Masrani, 22, at the High Court here yesterday, after allowing an appeal by the prosecution on the sentence.
When asked by the judge why he committed the offence, Afiq said that he was desperate and in debt.
However, Nurchaya stressed that the respondent did not have the right to rob the victim of her possessions, despite being desperate.
On October 9 last year, Afiq was sentenced to 15 months' jail by the Sessions Court, after pleading guilty to the offence under Section 390 (2) of the Penal code, which carries a maximum 14 years jail term and a fine, and or with whipping, upon conviction.
The respondent committed the crime on July 11 last year at 3pm when he snatched a smartphone belonging to Saniah Md Mudin, 21, in front of Wisma Budaya, here.
Previously, Deputy Public Prosecutor, Luke Ressa Balang as the appellant said that the sentence earlier passed on to the respondent was too lenient and that he should be jailed for at least four years.
Luke pointed out that there was a lot of complaints from the public that the 15-month jail sentence was too lenient.
"Snatching is a serious offence, taking into account the gravity of the offence which is rampant," he said.
Corpun file 25876 at www.corpun.com
The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 26 January 2015
Court caning of minors may end
Ministry clarifies that parents and teachers not affected by proposal
(extract)
PETALING JAYA: The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry says that there is no proposal to outlaw the caning of children by parents and teachers.
It was clarifying some newspaper reports that quoted Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim as saying that parents who use the cane on their children could be jailed under a new Act to be tabled in June to replace the Child Act 2001.
The ministry issued a statement yesterday saying that it had only proposed to abolish caning of minors in court.
It said as Malaysia was a signatory of the CRC, the country was obligated to end corporal punishment for children.
"At present, Section 91(1)(g) of the Child Act 2001 allows a male child to be caned no more than 10 times if convicted with a criminal offence. In this case, caning as carried out in court differs from caning at schools or at home. Caning carried out in court follows a procedure according to the law. However, in light of psychological development and in accordance with CRC, the ministry has proposed to abolish the punishment.
"In line with the suggested abolition of caning in court, the ministry has observed the act of caning children among Malaysians. At this time, the proposal in the new Bill does not mean that each act of caning becomes a criminal offence.
"Only when the act of caning causes physical and mental injuries, then it becomes an offence under the existing law. Currently vicious injury is already an offence under Section 31(1) of the Child Act 2001. One can be jailed up to 10 years or fined up to RM20,000 or both," it said.
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