2 days ago
E-hailing driver gets 5 years' jail, whipping for gold shop robbery
The court ordered for the sentence to run from the date of Melvin Yen's arrest on May 22. (Reuters pic)
PETALING JAYA : An e-hailing driver was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and one stroke of the rotan by the Melaka sessions court today after pleading guilty to robbing a gold shop and injuring the owner's wife last week.
Kosmo reported that judge Haderiah Siri imposed the sentence on Melvin Yen, 29, who entered his plea immediately after the charge was read by the court interpreter.
According to the charge, Yen robbed and intentionally injured Koh Kim Lye, 70, at Tai Kwong Gold Shop at Jalan Jawa, Kampung Jawa in Melaka Tengah at 11am on May 22.
Yen was charged under Section 394 of the Penal Code with voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery, which provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine or whipping, upon conviction.
It is understood that Yen was driven to robbery as he wanted to help pay off his girlfriend's debts to loan sharks, which exceeded RM200,000.
Lawyer Kent Tan, representing Yen, pleaded for a lenient sentence, saying his client was supporting his parents who suffer from high blood pressure and diabetes.
The prosecution was handled by deputy public prosecutor Ehsan Nasarudin, who requested an appropriate sentence, taking into consideration the losses suffered by the victim.
The court ordered the sentence to run from the date of Yen's arrest on May 22.
