Police Impersonator Starts Two-year Jail Term

PUTRAJAYA – A Rela officer began his two-year jail term for impersonating a policeman following the Court of Appeal dismissing his appeal.

A three-man bench led by its president Tan Sri Raus Sharif said there was ample evidence to sustain the conviction and sentence of Sukhdave Singh (a/l Sukhdial Singh).

Sukhdave, 32, was on RM20,000 bail pending the outcome of his appeal in the Court of Appeal.

The appellate court, however, set aside Sukhdave’s conviction and sentence on seven counts of robbery.

Earlier, his lawyer Karpal Singh submitted the robbery and impersonation charges must fail as the facts revealed that his client was with a person still at large.

“However, the person (claimed to be untraceable) was in court during trial in the Sessions Court and later offered to the defence,” he said.

Karpal said the witness identified as Prakash should have been placed on the witness stand for the prosecution to unravel its case.

He said failure to call the person resulted in a gap in the prosecution’s case.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tengku Amir Tengku Abdul Rahman said the technical oversight could be cured by the court by invoking section 422 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Sukhdave cheated seven foreign workers to part their cash and valuables at an apartment in Taman Bukit Jambul, Penang, about 10.30pm on March 20, 2008.

For each offence, the Sessions Court imposed a jail term of between 24 months and 32 months.

However, his jail term only amounted to 32 months as the sentences were concurrent. He was also ordered to be given one stroke of the rotan.

The Sessions Court also imposed a maximum two-year jail term for impersonation.

On Feb 2 last year, the High Court dismissed Sukhdave’s appeal against robbery and impersonation. – New Straits Times

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