Newly married man jailed for possessing, disposing of stolen items
KOTA KINABALU: A man, who claimed he just got married, was jailed for a total of 58 months by the Magistrate’s Court here yesterday for three charges of possessing and disposing of stolen items.
On the first count, Mohd Fauzi Halden, 32, who appeared before magistrate Cindy Mc Juce Balitus, was jailed for 14 months after he admitted to disposing of a stolen gas cylinder belonging to a man at a house at Taman Bukit Setia in Sepanggar, Inanam in April, 2018.
The offence was framed under Section 414 of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of seven years or a fine, or both, upon conviction.
The unrepresented accused was jailed for another 18 months after he pleaded guilty to the second count of keeping stolen items, namely a pair of branded shoes, two wristwatches and a remote control at a rest house in Indah Permai, Manggatal on April 9.
The charge was under Section 411 of the Penal Code which is punishable by a jail term of up to five years or a fine, or both, upon conviction.
On the third count, the accused received another 26 months in jail after he pleaded guilty to disposing of stolen properties such as a portable speaker, an LCD television and a drill machine at a house at Taman Bukit Setia in Sepanggar, Manggatal in April, 2018.
The magistrate ordered the accused to serve his jail terms consecutively and for all the items to be returned to the rightful owner.
In mitigation, the accused prayed for a lenient sentence as he just got married while prosecuting officer Inspector Albert Basiri pressed for a deterrent sentence to be imposed on the accused.
In a separate case, a part-time hotel waiter was sentenced to 15 months’ jail by the same court for stealing various women’s clothing from a laundry premises.
Asy Syams Sham Hari, 32, pleaded guilty to committing the offence at the premises in Putatan on April 3.
The prosecution told the court that the accused had stolen several clothing and one pair of working shirt belonging to a 36-year-old woman.
The incident happened when the victim went to eat at a restaurant near the laundry premise where she washed her clothing.
However, upon coming back to the premises, she noticed that her clothing were missing and CCTV recordings showed that the accused had stolen the items which all estimated worth RM300.