Kota Kinabalu: Two men were jailed 16 months and fined RM4,000 or six months jail each on Wednesday for car theft.
Security guard Mohd Hazfizi Jumat, 31, and Terry Siew, 27, a cook pleaded guilty before Magistrate Jessica Ombou Kakayun to stealing a Perodua Axia belonging to Jamilah Jamrin at 1.56am on June 7, at a wellness centre at Jalan Arkib Negara in Luyang.
They were jointly charged with another accused Effy Rahmat, 36, who claimed trial to the charge.
The offence under Section 379A of the Penal Code carries a jail term of between one year and seven years, and liability of a fine on conviction.
SPONSORED CONTENT Shell’s Access to Energy helps power lives of isolated communities in Sabah Kota Kinabalu: In 2017, Sabah Shell Petroleum Co Ltd (SSPC) launched Access to Energy (A2E), a Shell Social Investment programme aimed at providing affordable and continuous supply of electricity from renewable sources for communities who live without connection to the electricity grid. Read more Effy was offered bail at RM2,000 in two local sureties pending case management on July 20.
Inspector Albert Basiri told the court that the car owner lodged a police report that her car was stolen while she was visiting her daughter and spending the night there.
A check on the CCTV of the wellness centre shows three people, two of them later identified as Hazfizi and Siew, entered the premises, where Siew was seen taking the car key before all three boarded the said car and drove away.
Hazfizi and Siew were arrested by police in a budget room in Ranau the following day at 3.10pm and the stolen car seized from them.
Duty counsel Carmen Khoo, representing the duo, requested leniency by saying that it was their first offence and were remorseful.
When asked by the court about their reason for stealing the car, Hazfizi said they initially planned to stay at the centre but changed the plan when he saw the car key was placed there.
“I thought of using the car to go to Ranau because my car has broken down in Ranau,” he said.
Albert pressed for a deterrent sentence due to the rampancy of the offence and as a lesson to the public not to commit such offence.
Jessica also ordered Hazfizi, who suffered a broken ankle, to be referred to the medical officer for treatment as soon as possible.
In another case, a 50-year-old Filipina was jailed six months for having a stolen laptop.
Sim Tahamil admitted to having the stolen laptop belonging to Damale Sdn Bhd at 4.30pm on Feb 10 this year in front of a restaurant at Kingfisher Plaza, Inanam.
The offence under Section 411 of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to five years or fine or both, on conviction.
Inspector Suzie @ Stephanie Kupit told the court that the laptop was reported stolen on Jan 30 the same year.
Sim was arrested by police following a report lodged after the complainant saw the laptop being advertised for sale on the Facebook marketplace.
Sim, who was not represented, requested leniency by saying that she has a family here.
The court ordered Sim to be referred to the Immigration Department thereafter.
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