A total of five men, including three brothers, were sentenced to jail after they pleaded guilty to vandalising a woman’s grave at the Roman Catholic Cemetery in Riam, Miri.
The quintet consisted of Mat Abdul Rahman and his younger brothers Muhammad Iwan and Bujang, Mohammad Shajiry Abdullah and Muhammad Khairul Abdullah.
Meanwhile, a 16-year-old who’s the younger brother of the trio, also pleaded guilty at the Miri Magistrate’s Court on Monday (Oct 26).
All six of them were charged under Section 426 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail sentence of up to five years, a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Gaping hole left on grave
Facts of the case stated that a 30-year-old man lodged a police report on Sept 3 after he alleged that his late mother’s grave at the Roman Catholic Cemetery 2 in Riam had been broken into and damaged.
In the report, the complainant said his uncle had called him at 1.30pm that day to inform him of the incident.
As seen from a photo of the damaged grave, it showed the ceramic tiles located at lower part of the wall on the left corner being smashed to create a hole so the suspects could search for valuables.
The deceased’s clothing was also found strewn on top of the grave.
Police later arrested all six suspects after acting on information and intelligence gathered, and seized a torchlight, two hammers, including a sledgehammer, and a screwdriver.
Further investigations revealed that the act was carried out at about 3.30am on Sept 2, and that the group were involved in similar incidents at the Methodist Cemetery Riam, the Bahai Cemetery Riam and the BEM Cemetery Riam.
5 men jailed
Five of the six suspects were sentenced to one year and eight months’ jail, while the 16-year-old suspect was released on RM1,000 bail with his parents as sureties pending the hearing of his probation officer’s report on Nov 25.
None of the suspects were represented in court, while Deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Farhan Mohd Pauzi acted for the prosecution.
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