Student fined for stealing from mother
MELAKA: A student was fined RM12,000 by the magistrate’s court here yesterday for stealing and selling off her foster mother’s jewellery, worth RM5,305, to support her boyfriend.
Nurul Aqilah Abdullah, 20, from Tangga Batu, pleaded guilty to three counts of assisting in the concealment of stolen property when the charges were read to her before magistrate Norina Maludin.
On all three counts, Aqilah was charged with assisting in the concealment of stolen property by selling a stolen necklace worth RM605, a bangle worth RM1,250 and a necklace worth RM3,450, all totalling RM5,305, under Section 414 of the Penal Code. They belong to her foster mother Zalina Ramli, 40,
She committed the offences at Tanjung Jewellers Enterprise on April 4, 8 and 10 between 9am till 5pm.
According to the facts of the case, her foster mother realised that a bag of jewellery in her drawer had gone missing and confronted her foster daughter at their home on June 24.
Aqilah admitted to stealing the jewellery and selling it to a goldsmith shop with proceeds from the sale of the items used for her boyfriend and herself.
Her foster mother lodged a report, which led to the arrest of Aqilah and her boyfriend, Muhammad Aidil Japri, 19, at a house in Rumah Pangsa Seri Kubu, Jalan Kampung Empat, on Sept 8.
Aqilah later led police to a jewellery shop, whose owner, Kang Hock Eng, 28, handed over nine copies of the sales receipt and told the police that the jewellery had been melted down and resold.
Deputy public prosecutor Mazuin Hashim urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence as Aqilah had repeatedly stolen jewellery belonging to her foster family.
Aqilah, who was unrepresented, pleaded for a lenient sentence as she was young and expressed her desire to further her studies.
Norina then sentenced her to a fine of RM4,000 for each count, in default of six months’ jail.
In a separate court, Aqilah pleaded not guilty to four counts, under Section 414 of the Penal Code, of concealing stolen property before magistrate Mohd Firdaus Saleh.
Aqilah claimed trial to charges of assisting in the concealment of stolen property by selling a pair of earrings, a bangle and a leg chain worth RM2,590, a bangle worth RM1,108, a bangle worth RM600 and a bracelet, a pair of earrings and a ring worth RM4,500, all totalling RM8,798.
She allegedly committed the offences at Tanjung Jewellers Enterprise between 9am on March 16 and 7pm on March 25.
Firdaus set bail at RM8,000 for all four counts and fixed Dec 7 for mention and appointment of the lawyer.