Man gets nine years, cane for CBT

KOTA KINABALU: A man was sentenced to nine years in jail plus a stroke of the cane for misappropriating RM8,347 of a company’s sales proceeds.

Sessions Court judge Azreena Aziz imposed the sentence on John Ebiet Bachee, 31, who was not present in the court, under Section 425A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) which allows the court to proceed with the trial and meted out decision in the absence of the accused.

The provision was implemented in March 2017.

She ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt against the accused, who was also absent during his previous hearing.

John, who was an employee at Syarikat Smart Borneo (M) Sdn Bhd, had embezzled the company’s sales proceeds that was entrusted to him for his own use.

The offence took place at the company in Jalan Bundusan, Penampang between February 11 and 20, 2016.

He was found guilty of a charge under Section 408 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to 14 years and whipping and also liable to a fine upon conviction

John was not present during his trial on February 28 and a arrest warrant was issued against him ever since.

The court extended the arrest warrant and ordered for the jail sentence to take effect from the date of the execution of the arrest warrant.