3 years, 3 strokes for Customs officer impersonator

KUALA LUMPUR: An event management consultant was sentenced to three years in prison and three strokes of the cane by the sessions court here today after pleading guilty to impersonating a Customs officer and robbing a retail outlet worker last year.
Judge Shamsudin Abdullah ordered Tengku Asmawi Tengku Alaudin, 42, to serve the punishment from his arrest on Sept 14, 2017.
The father of four committed the offence with an accomplice still at large at a retail outlet in Jalan Semarak here, at 3.30pm on July 20, 2017.
According to the facts of the case, the duo came to the shop and introduced themselves as Customs officers to the worker, Shafinaz Saeden, 43.
They then pretended to conduct an inspection before leaving the premises with 10 cartons of assorted cigarettes worth about RM800. The worker immediately lodged a police report.
Earlier in mitigation, Tengku Asmawi's counsel Zulkifli Awang submitted that his client was the sole breadwinner for his family.
"He is remorseful for his action, which his family had to bear the brunt," he said.
However, deputy public prosecutor Nurakmal Farhan Aziz urged the court to impose an appropriate sentence "as a lesson to the accused in view of the seriousness of the offence".
"Not only did he rob, he also impersonated and tarnished the image of enforcement officers," she submitted. — Bernama