Jobless man jailed for trespass, theft

KOTA KINABALU: A unemployed man was jailed for 16 months by the Magistrate’s Court here for trespassing into a house of a lawyer and stole items from the house.

Magistrate Stephanie Sherron Abbie imposed the sentence on Desmond Timothy Jr.Lim, 38, after he pleaded guilty to breaking into the house at Jalan Lintas in Luyang on January 27.

The charge stated that the accused had stole several items from the house namely a laptop, three cellphones, two sling bags, four wristwatches and one shirt.

The accused was convicted under Section 457 of the Penal Code which provides for a jail term of up to 14 years and also liable to a fine or whipping, upon conviction.

The facts of the case stated that on the same day upon reaching home, the complainant found that the house’s entrance door was opened and there was sign of the door being broken.

The complainant entered the house, which was in messy of being ransacked and saw the window of a room at the first floor was opened.

At the same time, the complainant also heard noises coming from the second floor of the house and immediately went up to check what was the noises all about.

Upon getting there, the complainant saw one unknown man, which was the accused, busy taking the accused’s belongings from a cupboard and put them inside a bag.

The complainant shouted at the accused and the accused also shouted back at the complainant saying that he wanted to leave but the complainant had tried to stop the accused.

Scuffles occurred between both the accused and the complainant from the second floor of the house to the living room and ended in front of the complainant’s house.

The struggle to stop the accused, who tried to run away was fruitful after the police, who were patrolling the area, saw the incident. The accused arrested on the spot at the said place.