A Malaysian man convicted of stealing watches from a Cartier shop on Wanfujing Street was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Monday and fined 24,000 yuan ($3,692), the Beijing No 2 People's Intermediate Court reported.

MoiKitLeng, 39, threatened a sales clerk with a fake pistol and stole 11 watches from the boutique on one of Beijing's main shopping streets in March before binding the clerk's hands with rope, according to an indictment.

The man failed to stop a passenger car after fleeing, then hailed a taxi. Once the shop assistant reported the robbery to police, officers set up checkpoints and arrested him 22 minutes after the robbery.

"Because we have recovered all of the 11 luxury watches and he confessed his crimes during the court hearing, we issued a lenient punishment," the court said in a statement.

MoiKitLeng indicated he would appeal the verdict to the Beijing High Court.

MoiKitLeng, who holds a college degree, was born in Malaysia and came to Beijing in 2005, but had no stable work, Legal Evening News reported.

During Monday's court hearing, none of his family members attended the hearing. "His father-in-law has just received an operation for cancer and is now in intensive care, and his wife is looking after her father and hasn't come," MoiKitLeng's defending lawyer said.

Two diplomatic officers from the Malaysia Embassy attended the court hearing.