A Mombasa Court has sentenced a 22-year-old student to three years in prison for attacking and stealing electronics from a Chinese tourist.
Swaleh Arafat was accused of stealing a Canon digital camera and an Oppo mobile phone from Ms Li Ying in Mombasa County.
The prosecution told the court that on January 3, 2016 at Fort Jesus, the accused stole the digital camera, mobile phone and other property valued at Sh102,267 from the Chinese tourist.
On the material date, the court heard that the accused snatched the bag of the complainant which contained the said items.
The court further heard that the accused was arrested by members of the public after Ms Ying raised an alarm and he was arrested by the police later on.
Swaleh who was not represented by a lawyer pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing the camera and other properties from Ms Ying who was visiting the Fort Jesus monument.
The accused however pleaded with the court to show him leniency saying he is a student and was still in school. He further claimed that it was his first time to commit such an offence.
Mombasa Senior Principal Magistrate Richard Odenyo in his ruling sentenced the accused to three years in prison.
“The accused will be sentenced to serve three years in jail with no fine on his own plea of guilty,” magistrate Odenyo ruled.
The magistrate, however, gave the accused 14 days to appeal the court ruling.