A LORRY attendant has been sentenced to 38 months' imprisonment after admitting to abducting a 14-year-old secondary school student outside her school in Padang Serai last week.
M. Shyrichs, 39, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Nur Hamizah Mat Shah after the charges were read to him at the Magistrates' Court in Kulim on Wednesday.
According to the charge sheet, the accused abducted the Form Two student from the lawful custody of her mother outside Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Dato Lela Pahlawan at about 6.30pm on July 23.
He was charged under Section 361 of the Penal Code and punished under Section 363, which provides for a maximum sentence of seven years' imprisonment and a fine upon conviction.
The accused also admitted a second charge of voluntarily causing hurt to the victim at the same place, date and time.
The offence was prosecuted under Section 323 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of one year's imprisonment, a fine of up to RM2,000, or both.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Ain Fadilla Mohamad Fauzi appeared for the prosecution, while the accused was represented by National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK) counsel V. Nyanasegaran.
In mitigation, the defence urged the court to impose a lenient sentence, submitting that the accused worked as a lorry attendant, was unmarried and earned only a daily wage.
Counsel also said the guilty plea had saved valuable judicial time and argued that the offence was committed out of desperation arising from the actions of another individual.
The defence further requested that both custodial sentences run concurrently and take effect from the date of the accused's arrest on July 23.
The prosecution, however, sought a deterrent sentence, arguing that the offence involved significant public interest and warranted appropriate punishment.
Magistrate Nur Hamizah subsequently sentenced the accused to 38 months' imprisonment for the abduction offence and five months' imprisonment for voluntarily causing hurt.
The court ordered both sentences to run concurrently, with the jail term commencing from the date of the accused's arrest on July 23. - July 29, 2026
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