Kota Kinabalu: A 32-year-old who stole five bags of rice from a shop and later sold them for RM75, was sentenced to 15 months’ jail.
Arsyil Awang Zainal pleaded guilty before Magistrate Jessica Ombou Kakayun, to the charge against him.
Arsyil stole the rice at 11am on Sept 18 this year at the Kedai Runcit Rahullah Enterprise Inanam.
The offence under Section 380 of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to 10 years, on conviction.
The court ordered Arsyil to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest on Sept 18 this year. During mitigation, Arsyil asked for leniency.
However, Inspector Albert Basiri urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence on Arsyil.
The court heard that Arsyil went to the shop and told the shop assistant that he wanted to buy five bags of rice.
He then brought the rice to his car, came back to the shop counter and told the shop assistant that his money was not enough and needed to go back to his car to take money.
After that, Arsyil went back to his car and left the shop without making payment for the rice he took.
The shop assistant tried to stop Arsyil’s vehicle but to no avail. Following a police report, Arsyil was arrested on Oct 4 this year. Investigation revealed that Arsyil had sold the rice to another shop for RM75.
The shop assistant managed to identify Arsyil as the person who stole the rice during the identification parade.
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