An American man has been sentenced to 20 months jail time for robbing several convenience stores in Bali.
Paul Anthony Hoffman’s sentence was handed down on Wednesday in Denpasar District Court.
“The defendant was proven convincingly and legally guilty of theft by violence or by threat of violence against others and violated Article 365, Section 65, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code,” Chief Justice Gde Ginarsa said court, as quoted by Antara Bali.
Ginarsa’s verdict was lighter than the prosecutor’s demand that Hoffman get 2.5 years in prison. Reasons cited for some leniency were that Hoffman appeared polite during the trial process.
Hoffman, 57, a Sanur-based expat, originally from New York, was arrested in February 2017 after holding up a number of convenience stores that same month, armed with a knife.
When Hoffman was first arrested back in February, local media reported that police believed Hoffman may have robbed as many as eight convenience stores in Bali.
In his indictment, prosecutors outlined four different robberies they say Hoffman committed.
The first was on February 8, 2017. Hoffman rode his motorbike to a store to buy bottled water. When he made like he was about to pay, the cashier opened the money drawer and Hoffman pulled his knife out. From that store, Hoffman managed to steal Rp 8.7 million, along with two bottles of liquor (Black Label worth Rp 1.4 million and Red Label worth Rp 900k).
In the next robbery, in the early hours of Feb. 9, 2017, Hoffman hit a convenience store on Sunset Road and got just Rp 176k. Then again on Feb. 14, 2017, Hoffman hit a Circle K on Jl. Drupadi in Seminyak and managed to steal Rp 800k, the indictment continued. And finally, Hoffman made it to a convenience store on Jl. Kayu Aya, Seminyak and hit it big, walking away with Rp 11 million.
Hoffman, however, was arrested by Kuta Police just a couple of days later on Feb. 16 at 1am.
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