KENINGAU: A 38-year-old man was sentenced to one year’s jail and fined RM6,000, in default one year’s jail, for stealing Telekom Malaysia (TM) cables.
Magistrate Flavian Edward Hendry handed down the sentence to Mohd Khairul Fadzly Md Zaini for committing the offence under Section 431A of the Penal Code.
According to the facts of the case, at about 2.30am on March 3, this year, a police team from the Keningau District Police Headquarters (IPD) conducted surveillance on several individuals behaving suspiciously, believed stealing TM cables in a bushy roadside area along Kampung Mogong-Tangaban, Tambunan.
The raiding team managed to apprehend one member of the group later identified as Mohd Khairul and based on information obtained from the initial arrest, three other suspects were subsequently detained at different locations.
A total of 16 items of case exhibits were also seized from Mohd Khairul and his team following their arrest.
Initial investigations revealed that the group a habitual cable theft syndicate operating in the Tambunan and Keningau areas.
Their modus operandi involved pulling underground cables using a vehicle, aided by metal tools such as chain locks to facilitate the extraction of the cables.
Investigation revealed that Mohd Khairul with the members of the group operated in groups, with proceeds from the sale of the stolen cables shared equally among them.
Mohd Khairul and his team mainly targeted underground cables believed to contain denser metal and higher resale value, carrying out their activities from night until the early hours of the morning.
All members of the group are also believed involved in drug abuse.
