Man sentenced to 3 years' jail for robbing cabby

[Sun Quan]

Man sentenced to 3 years' jail for robbing cabby
By Shaffiq Alkhatib | Posted: 09 February 2011 2239 hrs
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SINGAPORE : A man was sentenced on Wednesday to three years' jail and given 12 strokes of the cane for robbing a taxi driver on December 6 last year.

Twenty-three-year-old Mohammed Hanafi Mohammed Jabar boarded Png Yong Kuay's taxi along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 at around 3am that day.

He told the 48-year-old cabby to drive him to Yishun Avenue 6.

But when he reached his destination, Hanafi told Mr Png that he did not have enough money to pay the fare.

He directed the cabby to drive him to a nearby Automated Teller Machine where he could obtain the cash.

Mr Png waited inside his vehicle while Hanafi alighted to retrieve the money.

However, the younger man then decided to rob the taxi driver instead.

He returned to the cab, slipped into the rear passenger seat and pointed a knife at Mr Png's neck, demanding cash.

The cabby did as he was told out of fear and Hanafi made off with S$290 cash.

Mr Png informed the authorities and officers arrested Hanafi at his home on January 11 this year.

For committing robbery, Hanafi could have been jailed a maximum of 14 years, on top of the minimum 12 strokes of the cane.