15 September 2012 | last updated at 11:42PM
Robbery victim gives 'impact statement'
By JENNIFER GOMEZ | [email protected]
TRAUMATIC: Man jailed 10 years, ordered to be given 6 strokes of the rotan after victim relates her ordeal
Law Suok Ung after giving her statement at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court yesterday. Pic Mohd Yusni Ariffin
KUALA LUMPUR: AN insurance agent could not contain her emotions when she described her ordeal of being grabbed by the neck and robbed by a young assailant three months ago.
And when the Sessions Court judge asked her what punishment should be meted out on the accused, the victim, Law Suok Ung, 45, cried and said, "I'm afraid that after serving his sentence, he will come looking for me."
Law, dressed in a black-striped dress, looked sullen in the witness box as she gave her victim impact statement yesterday. She said ever since the incident, she had trouble sleeping because of recurring nightmares.
"I'm also afraid to go to work. I work in sales and whenever I'm out meeting clients, I am afraid to come out of the car. When I'm out, I just want to get home," she said in between quiet sobs.
Looking on from the public gallery was her husband. Judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah then asked Law if she had sought professional help in dealing with her trauma. Law looked down and shook her head.
Standing in the dock and listening intently was the accused, security guard P. Gopinath, 22. He was found guilty after a full trial. The judge then sentenced Gopinath to 10 years in jail and six strokes of the rotan.
In her written judgment, Komathy said on the day of the incident, the accused and his accomplices were prowling for a victim and Law just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"He attacked her in a public place, brazenly and without fear. From the victim's impact statement, it is clear that she is greatly traumatised," the judge noted. Komathy added that the court must recognise that "the public live in fear of being robbed and terrorised by these robbers".
"The courts have a duty to secure public safety by incarcerating for substantial periods of time young criminals, who think their age confers them a right to commit serious crime, and then plead for a lenient sentence."
During the trial, it was revealed that at 5pm on June 29, Law had driven to the Sri Intan Kondo in Jalan Ipoh to meet a client.
She had parked her BMW along the roadside and was walking towards the condominium when she noticed a white van with four occupants coming from the opposite direction. The van door opened suddenly and the accused jumped out and rushed towards her.
He grabbed her by the neck and squeezed hard until she felt weak and was on the verge of losing consciousness. The assailant then demanded her car keys and handbag.
After he let her go, Law screamed for help and passers-by gave chase and caught Gopinath, who was then handed over to the police. His three accomplices fled in the van.
Yesterday, before sentence was passed, deputy public prosecutor Shashitah Mohamed Hanifa informed the court that Gopinath had two previous convictions.
Gopinath, who was unrepresented, read a piece of paper in the dock, saying that he accepted the judge's conviction but pleaded for a lenient sentence.
Robbery victim gives 'impact statement'
By JENNIFER GOMEZ | [email protected]
TRAUMATIC: Man jailed 10 years, ordered to be given 6 strokes of the rotan after victim relates her ordeal
Law Suok Ung after giving her statement at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court yesterday. Pic Mohd Yusni Ariffin
KUALA LUMPUR: AN insurance agent could not contain her emotions when she described her ordeal of being grabbed by the neck and robbed by a young assailant three months ago.
And when the Sessions Court judge asked her what punishment should be meted out on the accused, the victim, Law Suok Ung, 45, cried and said, "I'm afraid that after serving his sentence, he will come looking for me."
Law, dressed in a black-striped dress, looked sullen in the witness box as she gave her victim impact statement yesterday. She said ever since the incident, she had trouble sleeping because of recurring nightmares.
"I'm also afraid to go to work. I work in sales and whenever I'm out meeting clients, I am afraid to come out of the car. When I'm out, I just want to get home," she said in between quiet sobs.
Looking on from the public gallery was her husband. Judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah then asked Law if she had sought professional help in dealing with her trauma. Law looked down and shook her head.
Standing in the dock and listening intently was the accused, security guard P. Gopinath, 22. He was found guilty after a full trial. The judge then sentenced Gopinath to 10 years in jail and six strokes of the rotan.
In her written judgment, Komathy said on the day of the incident, the accused and his accomplices were prowling for a victim and Law just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"He attacked her in a public place, brazenly and without fear. From the victim's impact statement, it is clear that she is greatly traumatised," the judge noted. Komathy added that the court must recognise that "the public live in fear of being robbed and terrorised by these robbers".
"The courts have a duty to secure public safety by incarcerating for substantial periods of time young criminals, who think their age confers them a right to commit serious crime, and then plead for a lenient sentence."
During the trial, it was revealed that at 5pm on June 29, Law had driven to the Sri Intan Kondo in Jalan Ipoh to meet a client.
She had parked her BMW along the roadside and was walking towards the condominium when she noticed a white van with four occupants coming from the opposite direction. The van door opened suddenly and the accused jumped out and rushed towards her.
He grabbed her by the neck and squeezed hard until she felt weak and was on the verge of losing consciousness. The assailant then demanded her car keys and handbag.
After he let her go, Law screamed for help and passers-by gave chase and caught Gopinath, who was then handed over to the police. His three accomplices fled in the van.
Yesterday, before sentence was passed, deputy public prosecutor Shashitah Mohamed Hanifa informed the court that Gopinath had two previous convictions.
Gopinath, who was unrepresented, read a piece of paper in the dock, saying that he accepted the judge's conviction but pleaded for a lenient sentence.
