B.C.’s Court of Appeal has increased the jail sentence for a man who robbed a UBC student while threatening her with a screwdriver.
On Nov. 3, 2020, Hashim Ali approached a young woman as she was using an ATM on the UBC campus. Ali came up from behind, pressed a screwdriver into her side and demanded that she give him money.
He asked: “Do you want to get stabbed?” the court ruling said.
“He told her to input her personal identification number,” Justice Joyce DeWitt-Van Oosten wrote for the unanimous, three-judge appeal panel in a Feb. 17 ruling. The ruling was released March 2.
“He then took control of the victim’s hand and manipulated it, forcing her to withdraw $400 from the ATM. The victim was crying hysterically.
“He traumatized a young woman who was entitled to expect that her schooling environment would be safe, and his conduct profoundly disrupted her life,” DeWitt-Van Oosten said.
Ali fled after getting the cash. The victim followed; she called for help and another person joined the pursuit.
Ali collected a backpack from some bushes, changed his clothing and discarded a toque, the ruling said. Police captured Ali a short time later.
While the money was not found, Ali had a screwdriver and his ID was found in the toque.
The judge imposed a nine‑month conditional sentence, followed by 12 months of probation.
The Crown, however, appealed, contending a conditional sentence was not available for a robbery involving a weapon, that the judge had given insufficient weight to denunciation and deterrence.
The Crown asked that Ali’s sentence be changed to 18 months imprisonment, followed by two years of probation.
With time already served, the court said the sentence (to run from Nov. 16, 2021) is therefore 14.5 months imprisonment.
Ali had sought a custodial sentence of less than six months, followed by probation.
“It is far too lenient given his moral culpability,” DeWitt-Van Oosten said.
The typical sentence for robbery involving overt violence, including the use of a weapon, is often between two and nine years imprisonment.
Ali came to Canada from Pakistan, escaping with his family. He has claimed refugee status in Canada; he lives in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and receives social assistance. He does not maintain contact with his family.
The sentencing judge heard a conviction might delay Ali’s application for refugee status.
