Man jailed for break-in attempt

KOTA KINABALU: A father of five children was jailed for 16 months by the Magistrate’s Court here yesterday for attempted housebreaking.

Hee Kok Weu, who worked as a labourer, pleaded guilty before magistrate Cindy Mc Juce Balitus to the charge under Section 457 of the Penal Code.

The indictment carries a jail term of up to five years and also liable to a fine and if the offence intended to be committed is theft, the term of imprisonment may be extended to a maximum of 14 years and also liable to a fine or whipping for every second or subsequent offence, upon conviction.

He committed the offence at a restaurant in Alam Mesra, Jalan UMS, Manggatal at 3.50pm on March 2.

In mitigation, counsel Michelle Rozanna Usman, who represented the accused under the National Legal Aid Foundation (NLAF), prayed for a lenient sentence to be imposed on the accused.

She said that the accused, who was remorseful, had committed the offence because he wanted to get some money in order to visit his sick child at a village in Kota Belud.

The accused managed to get some RM40 in coin, which he thought was enough to get him to Kota Belud, she said.

Furthermore, she said that the accused had tried to borrow money from his friends but was unsuccessful and thus, resulted in breaking into the premises.

Prosecuting officer Inspector James Paran told the court that the accused was caught on March 2 following a police report made by a complainant.

The complainant managed to catch the accused breaking into the restaurant on the same day and handed over the accused to the police whereby the accused admitted to committing the offence.