By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Sept 14: A Sessions Court judge today ordered five teenage boys to be placed in the Henry Gurney School after they pleaded guilty to taking part in an armed group robbery at a 24-hour convenience store.
Judge Noorhisham Mohd Jaafar handed down the order after reviewing social and behavioural reports on the offenders prepared by the Social Welfare Department.
Two of the boys, both 18, were ordered to remain at the reform school until they turn 21, while the remaining three, aged between 14 and 15, were ordered to be held there for five years.
The group had pleaded guilty on August 5 to charges under Section 395 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 397, which covers robbery involving the use of weapons.
According to the prosecution, the five, along with a sixth accomplice who remains at large, attacked a 19-year-old shop attendant using machetes and wooden clubs during the robbery, which took place at around 4am on June 1 at a convenience store along Jalan Tun Jugah.
Court documents state that the store worker reported being confronted by five unidentified assailants armed with machetes and sticks. The attackers threatened him and forced him to hand over RM1,000 in cash along with a selection of cigarettes before fleeing the scene.
Before leaving, the group also damaged the store’s CCTV monitor and cash register.
A police report filed after the incident led to the arrest of all five teenagers on July 31. The sixth member of the group, believed to be the ringleader who masterminded the robbery, remains at large.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Adriana Maisarah Mohd Farid led the prosecution, while none of the teenagers were represented by legal counsel. — DayakDaily
