PASIR MAS - A former army commando has been sentenced to four years jail by the magistrate's court, here, today, after he was found guilty of two counts of cheating which involved losses of RM17,500.
Magistrate Rais Imran Hamid handed down the sentence to Rosdi Ibrahim, 59, after the accused pleaded guilty to both charges.
On the first count, the accused was charged with cheating one Muhammad Syahran Amirul Azlan, 27, by convincing the victim that he would supply stocks of cigarettes which led the victim to hand over RM5,500 in cash at a food stall near a railway station in Pasir Mas at about 8.30pm on May 23.
Based on the facts of the case, three days before the incident, the victim was approached by the accused at a mosque in Kubang Bemban and offered to sell the former cigarettes.
The victim then handed over the money to the accused before the accused fled with the money while the victim was getting a beverage at the stall.
On the second count, Rosdi was charged with cheating businessman Norizan Yusoff, 53, by convincing the victim that he was supplying textiles, cigarettes and fireworks which led the victim to hand over RM12,000 in cash to the accused at a shop lot in Pasar Tasek Raja at about 9pm on Feb 6.
During the incident, the accused just left after receiving the cash from the victim.
Both charges were framed under Section 420 of the Penal Code which carries an imprisonment between one year and 10 years, and with whipping, and also liable to a fine, upon conviction.
The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Syafiq Aizat Nazri while the accused was represented by a Kelantan National Legal Aid Foundation lawyer.
The accused through his lawyer pleaded for leniency as he was working as a grass cutter and needed to support his wife and nine children.
The court then sentenced him to three years jail for the first offence and a years' jail for the second offence.
His sentences were ordered to run consecutively.