Malaysian Gets Jail, 4 Strokes For Gun-toting
By Rol Ezam

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Bandar Magistrate’s Court yesterday sentenced a 45-year-old Malaysian to 5 years and 5 months’ imprisonment with 4 strokes of the rattan after he pleaded guilty to possession of an unlicensed ‘self-made’ rifle, 21 bullets and 5 shotgun cartridges in the country.

Kesah bin Sulaiman, 45, from Bintulu, Sarawak, was also sentenced to jail for 6 months, to run consecutively, after he admitted to remaining in this country unlawfully after his employment pass expired on February 23, 1999.

According to the Deputy Public Prosecutor, the defendant was originally facing a charge of possessing two unlicensed rifles and a charge under the Immigration Act. However, pending reports from the Armoury Department, only one weapon was considered as a rifle while the other is not constituted under the Arms and Explosives Act, the DPP said.

Yesterday, the two original charges were amended. Besides, the defendant also faced an additional charge of possessing ammunitions to which he also pleaded guilty.

The court heard that on September 9 this year, at about 4:50 pm, a team of police officers from the Tutong Police Station led by Senior Inspector Zainudin bin Hj Mohd Daud went to the defendant’s house in Tutong after receiving information of a rifle kept in the house.

The police found five shotgun cartridges, 21x5.56mm bullets, a rifle, three small barrel pipes and five small pipes, found inside a grey bag labeled ‘MACGREGOR’ which was kept in the compartment by the head of the defendant’s bed.

During the search, the defendant admitted to the police that there was also another rifle in the house. The defendant led the police to the storeroom when they discovered a rice sack hidden under a wooden board, which was later found to contain another rifle, the court heard.

The defendant also led the police to the kitchen where he showed them a bag labeled ‘FINO’ which was hanged on the wall consisting of three barrel pipes measuring 1.9 inches, 2.8 inches and 3.7 inches respectively, two barrel pipes measuring 1.6 inches and 2.6 inches respectively, a compass, one small iron rod measuring 2 inches and one small round metal, the DPP said.

The exhibits found in the defendant’s house were sent to the Armoury Department of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces for expert analysis.

According to the expert report dated September 12 this year, the three barrel pipes, the rifle and the two barrel pipes do come under the definition of ‘Arms’ as set out in the Arms and Explosives Rules. According to the report, the ammunition used for the said weapon was that of shotgun cartridges and 5.56mm blank rounds which were also the bullets recovered from the defendant’s house.

During the police investigations, the defendant admitted that the rifle found in his bedroom belonged to him. He further admitted that he made the rifle himself.

Further investigations also revealed that the defendant, who is married to a Bruneian, had an employment pass which had expired on February 23, 1999 and from thereon, the defendant had remained unlawfully in this country without any reasonable cause, the DPP said. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Brudirect.com News