A Malaysian man was jailed for four years at Seremban Session Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to impersonating a police officer and robbing a 37-year-old Indonesian neighbor of 1,200 ringgit (US$295).
The court learned that at 3pm on February 1, the defendant, who had a history of burglary and blackmail, posed as a policeman and visited the Indonesian victim’s home, which was under refurbishment, in Senawang, Seremban district, Malaysia, the China Press reported.
The victim, who was with two compatriots, one of whom was the contractor, answered the door. The defendant, posing as a police officer, insisted on checking the work permit of the contractor, and at the same time solicited money from the home owner. When the home owner took out his wallet, the defendant grabbed it and tried to flee. As he did so, he pocketed 1,200 ringgit in cash from the wallet.
The victim struggled with the suspect, prevented him from riding away on his motorcycle, and eventually prompted him to give up the stolen cash.
The defendant, who was not represented by a solicitor, filed a plea for leniency, explaining that he was drunk at the time of the offence, and as a technician earning only 5,400 ringgit per month, was struggling as he had to look after his ageing father and raise a young child. He was sentenced to four years in prison.