Three friends plead not guilty to concealing stolen property

MIRI: Three friends pleaded not guilty in a magistrate’s court to a charge of concealing stolen property.

Joseph Rickey Jugah (26) from Pujut Sampah, Iskandar Tukau (22) from Kampung Lopeng Tengah, and Augustine Jang (24) from Pujut Corner were charged under Section 414 of the Penal Code and read together with Section 34 of the same code.

They could be jailed up to seven years or be fined or both upon conviction.

Based on the charge sheet, the three men allegedly concealed stolen properties comprising 19 smart phones and accessories of various brands belonging to Ling Siew Ling, 46.

They allegedly committed the offence at a premises in Jalan Bendahara here at 3.30pm on Sept 23.

Earlier, prosecuting officer ASP Mary Ong applied for a new date to be set aside for case management since the accused pleaded not guilty, and claimed trial.

Judge Steve Ritikos set Nov 6 for case management.

The accused, meanwhile, were released on RM3,000-bail with one local surety each while waiting for the next hearing.

Joseph and Iskandar also face another charge with William Watt Jang (26) from Pujut Corner.

They were ordered by a magistrate’s court to be released on RM2,500-bail and two local sureties each after they pleaded not guilty to selling stolen properties.

The court then set Nov 13 for case management.

They allegedly sold stolen properties (19 handphones and accessories) belonging to Ling Siew Ling, which they stole in front of a hotel at Jalan Merbau here at 2.15pm on Sept 23.

They were charged under Section 411 of the Penal Code and read together with Section 34 of the same code, which carry a jail term up to five years, or fine or both upon conviction.

Insp Mohd Khairi Mohd Noor prosecuted the case in front of Magistrate Md Syafique Md Hilmi, while the three accused were not represented.