KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — A former fast food restaurant employee was sentenced to a total of 14 years in prison by the Sessions Court here today after pleading guilty to stealing a car and attempting to kill a man by driving the vehicle dangerously that the victim, who was clinging to the car bonnet, was thrown off and suffered serious injuries.

Judge Izralizam Sanusi sentenced Muhammad Wan Azhar Azman, 20, to 10 years imprisonment for attempted murder and four years in prison for car theft, with both sentences to be served concurrently from the date of arrest, which was October 24 this year.

Before handing down the sentence, Izralizam advised Muhammad Wan Azhar to repent and lead a good life after completing his sentence and not to repeat his mistakes.

"The offence you committed is serious, which is attempted murder with the victim suffering very serious injuries as he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)... If he (the victim) dies, this may cause you to be accused of murder, but because the victim did not die, you are charged under Section 307 of the Penal Code.

"The court takes into account this serious offence needs to be given due consideration as a signal to the society that this kind of offence cannot be lightly tolerated, lest they become widespread. Therefore, public interest must take precedence over the interests of the accused,” said the judge.

Muhammad Wan Azhar was charged under Section 379A of the Penal Code with stealing a Honda Civic belonging to D. Joshua Jeyaseelan, 30, at the traffic lights at Lebuh Perdana Timur, Precinct 15, Putrajaya, between 3.40pm and 4pm last October 23.

The offence provides imprisonment for a maximum of seven years and is liable with a fine upon conviction.

He was also charged with dangerously driving the car, causing Joshua’s partner, Mohamed Jalil Iskandar, 28, who was clinging to the bonnet of the vehicle to be thrown and was seriously injured.

The charge, framed under Section 307 of the Penal Code which provides a maximum prison sentence of 20 years upon conviction, was committed at the same location, date and time.

Based on the facts of the case, last October 22, Joshua had rented his car to Muhammad Wan Azhar’s girlfriend on October 22 and she was supposed to return it the next day.

After the rental period expired, the complainant contacted the woman several times but failed.

The complainant then tried to locate the car through GPS Tracker and found it located at the Diplomatic Precinct, Putrajaya, and on October 23, Joshua and Mohamed Jalil saw the car being driven by the accused at the Precinct 14 roundabout.

They also found the car bearing a different plate number and the accused was with the girlfriend in the car.

Mohamed Jalil asked the accused to stop the car but the latter reversed the vehicle and attempted to knock him down, causing Mohamed Jalil to jump on the bonnet of the car to avoid being hit before he was thrown onto the road.

Deputy public prosecutor Nor Aisyah Mohamed Zanyuin appeared for the prosecution, while Muhammad Wan Azhar was unrepresented. — Bernama