Technician jailed, fined for stealing woman’s handbag in toilet

KOTA KINABALU: A technician was jailed for 11 months plus RM500, in default, four months’ imprisonment by the Magistrate’s Court here yesterday for stealing a cellphone of a woman by pulling her handbag while the woman was in a public toilet.

Magistrate Mohamad Aizat Abdul Rahim imposed the sentence on Irwan Idris, 22, after he pleaded guilty to taking away the cellphone of the 23-year-old clerk in her handbag at a building here on March 18.

In passing the sentence, the magistrate held that he had taken into consideration that the accused had saved the court tremendous time by pleading guilty to the charge and the sentence imposed on the accused served as a lesson to him.

“What you have done could harm indirectly other people’s life especially the woman in this case.

“Have you thought about your child before doing this?” the magistrate asked.

“I regretted what I’ve done,” said the accused and explained that he took the handbag which contained RM427 in cash and a cellphone for his own use.

However, the judge reminded him to act based on his affordability and not to take someone else’s properties.

Prosecuting officer Inspector Albert Basiri told the court that before the incident, the victim entered the public toilet and was about to put her handbag on a space inside the toilet but it was suddenly grabbed by the accused who was from the other toilet.

The accused then ran away but a security guard on duty managed to catch him, while the victim was called to identify her handbag.

And the guard had also conducted a check on the accused’s body and found the cash kept in a pocket of his trousers but the cellphone was not there.

They then called the police who came to arrest the accused.

The unrepresented accused said in his mitigation that this was his first offence and he has to support for his child.