PETALING JAYA, 12 Aug 2017:
A lawyer was sentenced to nine months’ jail and fined RM10,000 by the magistrate’s court here yesterday after he was found guilty of criminal intimidation by threatening to cause bodily harm or death to another lawyer, three years ago.
Magistrate Mohd Azali Ibrahim meted the sentence to A. Suayri, 56, after finding the defence had failed to raise a reasonable doubt against the prosecution’s case.
The court also ordered Suayri to be jailed for another 10 months if he failed to pay the fine.
Suayri committed the offence to Datuk Suraj Singh Jaswant Singh, 45, at the Lake View Club SS12, Subang Jaya here, at 11.35pm on 24 May 2014.
He was charged under Section 506 of the Penal Code – which carries a maximum jail term of seven years or fine, or both, upon conviction.
Earlier, Suayri’s cousel Liow Boon Lee requested for a stay of execution of the jail sentence – saying that as a law practitioner, the accused had prior engagement to represent his clients.
“If he is in jail, it will affect his clients’ cases,” he said, adding that they would file an appeal as soon as possible.
Deputy public prosecutor N. Sivashangari objected the request, saying the excuse was unreasonable.
“The accused knows very well that today he would either be acquitted or convicted. He should have made proper plans for the cases that he represent.”
The court granted the stay of execution, increased bail to RM5,000, and ordered the notice of appeal to be filed within 24 hours.
Meanwhile in KUALA LUMPUR, a personal driver was sentenced to four years’ jail and fined RM4,000 in default three months’ jail by the sessions court yesterday – when he pleaded guilty to two counts of hurting a lorry driver and son.
Judge Noradura Hamzah sentenced B. Yuvaraja, 45 – who changed his ‘not guilty’ plea to guilty on the first day of trial – to four years’ jail and fined RM2,000 on each charge.
She ordered the sentences to run concurrently from the date of arrest on April 14.
On both charges, Yuvaraja was charged with another another person at large, to voluntarily causing grievous hurt to Malik Abdullah, 51, and his son, M. D. Benjamin, 29, a mail delivery man, while armed with a knife.
He committed the offences in a car park at the Desa Rejang People’s Housing Project (PPR) flats, Taman Setapak Jaya here at 10pm on Jan 30.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Farith Muhd Faizal pressed for a deterrent sentence so that Yuvaraja would not repeat the offence.
– Bernama