Ayer keroh: The Ayer Keroh Sessions Court today sentenced a man to eight years' imprisonment and one stroke of the cane for attempting to murder a police inspector with a kerambit (small curved knife) last Saturday. Judge Raja Noor Adilla Raja Mahyaldin handed down the sentence against Muhammad Fairus Abdullah, 31, following his guilty plea.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the accused attempted to murder Insp Esmal Fhahmie Abd Malek, 40, by swinging a kerambit at the victim with intent likely to cause death. The offence occurred at 1 am on April 11 at Lot 1209-2, Batu 6 Lereh, Tanjung Kling. The man was charged under Section 307 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to ten years and also liable to caning. Additionally, he faced charges under Section 6(1) of the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958 for possessing a dangerous weapon in a public place without a lawful purpose, which carries imprisonment of between five and ten years, as well as caning.

Based on the facts of the case, the complainant, Insp Esmal, identified himself after noticing the accused behaving suspiciously. However, the accused fled approximately 300 metres while holding a kerambit and a screwdriver. Despite orders to surrender, the accused refused, shouting, "I will kill any police officer who tries to stop or arrest me". The accused then swung the weapon at the complainant, only dropping it after a warning shot was fired into the air by a police officer.

Deputy public prosecutor Rif'ah 'Izatti Abdul Mutalif called for a commensurate sentence, while the accused, who was unrepresented, appealed for his sentence to run concurrently from his date of arrest. The court sentenced him to eight years' imprisonment for the attempted murder charge, and five years' imprisonment with one stroke of the cane for possession of a weapon. Both sentences were ordered to run concurrently from the date of arrest.

Separately, before the Ayer Keroh Magistrates' Court, the accused pleaded guilty to three charges under Sections 506, 324, and 184 of the Penal Code for threatening police officers, injuring a police officer with a machete, and obstructing a civil servant in their duties. Magistrate Uthman Abd Ghani sentenced him to seven months' imprisonment for each charge, ordering the sentences to run concurrently from the date of arrest.