Kota Kinabalu: A 31-year-old contractor was sentenced to 28 months in prison by the Magistrate’s Court here for extorting RM1,000 from a man.
Magistrate Wan Farrah Farriza Wan Ghazali imposed the sentence on Jaiman Idris after a full trial.
Jaiman was found to have threatened the complainant at about 1.42am on Oct 29, 2024, at a Telekom substation pole in Kampung Kalibangun.
He was accused of putting the complainant in fear that a calamity, namely the arrest of the complainant’s part-time workers, would occur, and by such dishonest inducement causing the complainant to hand over RM1,000 in cash.
The offence is punishable under Section 384 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years, or a fine, or whipping, or any two of such punishments upon conviction.
In delivering her decision, the magistrate said the court took into account that the case had proceeded through a full trial that the offence was serious, and that public interest must take precedence.
She noted that Jaiman, as an adult, was aware of the consequences of his actions.
The court also considered the prosecution’s submissions as well as the defence’s plea for leniency.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Akaash Singh sought a heavy and deterrent sentence to serve as a lesson to Jaiman and other potential offenders. He submitted that the complainant had suffered fear and trauma as a result of the threats and had also lost RM1,000.
The court ordered Jaiman to begin serving his 28-month jail term from the date of his arrest.
Six prosecution witnesses and two defence witnesses, including Jaiman, testified during the trial.
