Almaty, 24 October. An Almaty court has given a five-year suspended sentence to the 68-year-old former head of the Zhambyl Kazakh State Philharmonic, previously convicted of embezzlement, for forcing a currency exchange cashier in May to hand over $10,000 using his grandson's toy gun; the verdict has not yet taken effect, the Telegram channel Kozachkov offside reports.
According to the channel's author, in May staff of the exchange office went to the Almaly district police: an elderly man had pointed a gun at the cashier, demanded $10,000 in cash and, having received it, walked away unhurriedly. Using surveillance cameras, police established that he had gone straight home and detained him. The gun turned out to be a toy.
According to the channel, investigators needed five months to settle on the charge. The defendant's actions were eventually classified as large-scale robbery involving entry into business premises, which carried a sentence of 5 to 10 years in prison. Judge Yernar Kassymbekov imposed a five-year suspended sentence and ordered the "weapon", the toy, to be destroyed.
In 2011 the same man was convicted of embezzlement at the philharmonic and also received a suspended sentence. The channel does not say whether he returned the $10,000 to the exchange office.
What it means: An elderly man with a previous conviction received a suspended sentence for robbing an exchange office of $10,000: the court chose the lower limit of the sentence and did not send him to prison. The verdict can still be appealed.
Who benefits: The convicted man, who stays free instead of serving time. The prosecution and the victim are entitled to appeal until the verdict takes effect.
Background: According to the channel, police initially investigated the case as armed robbery; the final charge, large-scale robbery with entry into business premises, carries 5 to 10 years in prison.
List of sources used: Kozachkov offside
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
