PETALING JAYA: A 32-year-old pisang goreng seller, Mohamed Shahriza Othman, has been sentenced to 24 months in jail after pleading guilty to kidnapping two girls, aged 6 and 8, in Taman Ikan Emas, Sungai Buloh last week.
The kidnapping occurred on July 19 at 6.30pm when Shahriza approached the girls playing in front of a house.
He asked them to accompany him to deliver letters, gave them RM50, and then took them for a ride before returning them home at 7.45pm.
At 7.06pm, a man reported to the police that his daughter and her friend had been abducted by an unknown individual driving a Perodua Bezza.
According to New Straits Times, Sungai Besar magistrate Siti Hajar Ali handed down the sentence, ordering Shahriza to serve 12 months for one charge and 24 months for the other, to run concurrently.
He was also fined RM2,000 in default of two months’ jail.
She emphasised the need for a deterrent sentence and that kidnapping cases are rampant and it is a serious offence.
In mitigation, Muhd Muqri Mohd Khairi from the National Legal Aid Foundation, representing Shahriza, requested a lenient sentence for both charges.
He said Shahriza acted out of a desire for daughters, as he already has two sons but has not had a daughter.
“He is his family’s sole breadwinner and his wife is a housewife. This is his first offence, and he was remanded for five days and cooperated with the police,“ he said.
However, deputy public prosecutor Nurul Sofea Jaysal requested a severe punishment, citing public interest and the rise in such cases as a threat to society.
The offence, under Section 363 of the Penal Code, carries a maximum jail term of seven years and a fine.
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