A SINGLE father was sentenced to five years in jail and eight strokes of the rotan by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today after he pleaded guilty to four counts of armed robbery.

Judge Mahyon Talib sentenced Herman Abdul Rahman, 36, to five years’ jail on each count to be served concurrently from the date of his arrest on October 1. He was also ordered to be given eight strokes of the rotan.

Mahyon also advised the accused not to repeat the offences.

“Please learn skills in prison… you can learn bakery, batik printing and cutting hair. Once you are released, I hope you will not be involved in criminal activities anymore. Please repent – you have a daughter,” she said.

On August 21, Herman robbed a KK Mart in Sri Rampai of RM1,177.05 using a machete at 4am.

On July 29, unemployed Herman was charged with robbing a MyNews.com branch in Jalan Raja Chulan of RM258.10 using a knife at 7.55pm.

He also robbed a Healthlane Family Pharmacy in Setiawangsa of RM400 using a machete on September 20 at 7.25pm.

On May 31, Herman robbed another MyNews.com branch in Dataran Jelatek of RM591 at 6.48am using a machete.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Nurliyana Mohd Jafri pressed for a just sentence to serve as lesson to the accused.

Herman, who was not represented, appealed for leniency on the grounds that he has a 4-year-old daughter. – Bernama, October 11, 2019