A three-member Court of Appeal bench, chaired by Hanipah Farikullah, allowed R Rajesh Kumar’s appeal and ordered him to be bound over for five years and to place a deposit of RM10,000 with the court.

He had been freed on bail of RM13,000 pending his final appeal today.

The bench, which also consisted of Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah and Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, set aside the 56-month jail sentence imposed by the sessions court in 2019.

Hanipah said the bench allowed the appeal after hearing submissions from counsel K Veeranesh Babu and deputy public prosecutor Aida Khairuleen Azli.

Rajesh, who is getting engaged next month, committed the offence at the Stulang Laut car park in Johor Bahru at about 10pm on Oct 7, 2018.

The offence is punishable under section 7 (1) of the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958, which carries a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum 10-year jail term upon conviction.

Veeranesh pleaded with the court to bound over his client under Section 294 of the Criminal Procedure Code as the offence was not serious.

“The weapon was kept in the car and he did not use it to cause injury to any person,” he said.

However, there was evidence that Rajesh had used the parang to slash a cone placed on a road while being intoxicated.

Aida conceded the court had the power to impose the non-custodial sentence but this was not a fit and proper case.