Mohd Fahmi Md Zin told a three member panel chaired by Yaacob Md Sam today that he was helping his mother operate a food stall.

“Ever since I was sent to prison, my sister had been helping my mother but it was difficult for her (sister) as she has four children to take care,” he said, adding that his father had also passed away recently.

He said his mother, during prison visits, had told him that the food business was down during the current Covid-19 pandemic.

Fahmi, 33, who was unrepresented, said he was remorseful for having committed the crime.

At this juncture an alert Yaacob, who sat with P Ravintharan and Mohd Sofian Abdul Razak, noted that Fahmi’s mitigation today was totally different from that made in the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court two years ago.

The judge then read the mitigation as found in the notes of evidence of the Sessions Court where Fahmi said he was jobless and did not financially support his family.

The note had Fahmi telling the trial judge that it was his family which supported him.

“I ask for money from my family and they give me. That is the way I was taught,” he had said.

Yaacob: Have you forgotten what you said before the trial judge?

Fahmi replied that he was not in the right frame of mind then.

The bench then dismissed his appeal and retained the seven year jail term and one stroke of the rotan meted out by the High Court last year.

The Sessions Court in 2018 sentenced him to 30-months in jail and to be whipped once.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Zaki Ashraf Zubir said the sentence imposed by the High Court was appropriate as the punishment for armed robbery was a jail term of up to 14 years, whipping and fine.

Fahmi committed the offence at a 24-hour convenience store in Suria Damansara Damai in Petaling district on Jan 5, 2018 by using a Rambo knife.

The witness impact statement of the victim stated he was terrified about the robbery and resigned his job to return to his village after the incident.

The same bench also maintained the five year jail term and three strokes of the rotan imposed on a youthful offender for causing grievous hurt to a teenager by using a parang.

Muhammad Afiq Suyuti, who was 18 years and 18 days old when he committed the offence, was initially sentenced to 12 years and ordered to be given three strokes of the rotan by a Sessions in Kota Baru two years ago.

On appeal, the High Court last year reduced the jail term as he was a first offender and it was undesirable to keep a young man long in jail.

Afiq committed the offence on Fairuz Hisyam Badli on Jan 22, 2018, at Kampung Panggong in Pasir Puteh district.

Medical evidence revealed the victim sustained 45 slash wounds on his arms and wrists.

Lawyer Ahmad Nizam Mohamad represented Afiq while deputy public prosecutor Nurshafini Mustafha prosecuted.