Trespassing, stealing: Man gets 16 months

Kota Kinabalu: A 38-year-old man who broke into a house and stole several items was jailed 16 months.

Magistrate Stephanie Sherron Abbie handed down the sentence to Desmond Timothy who admitted to the charge against him.

Desmond had broken into the house which belonged to one Bryan Chua, at 1.30pm on Jan 27 this year at Lorong Aman 2 in Jalan Lintas, Luyang.

Desmond had stolen a laptop, three handphones, two sling bags, four branded wristwatches and a t-shirt.

The offence, under Section 457 of the Penal Code, carries a jail term of up to 14 years on conviction.

The court ordered Desmond to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest.

During mitigation, Desmond asked for leniency, saying that he was under the influence of drug at the time.

However, Prosecuting Officer Inspector Suzie Kupit urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence.

The court heard that on the said day, when Chua arrived at his house, he saw the front door left ajar.

Chua heard a noise from the second floor, went up and saw an unknown man taking his belongings and putting them inside a bag.

Chia shouted at the man but the man, later identified as Desmond, shouted back by saying he was leaving the house.

A scuffle occurred between them when Chua tried to stop Desmond from leaving the house. Desmond was arrested immediately by police who were patrolling the area.

A video on the incident went viral on social media, recently.