KUCHING: A 29-year-old general worker was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment by the Magistrates’ Court here Tuesday for attempting to steal an honorary medal belonging to the Principal Private Secretary to the Premier earlier this month.
Shaifullah Sandy Abdullah pleaded guilty before Magistrate Ling Hui Chuan to a charge under Section 380 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 511 of the same Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and a possible fine upon conviction.
In a separate proceeding before Senior Assistant Registrar Abdurrahman Abrar Jami, Shaifullah was also sentenced to five months’ imprisonment for trespassing on state government property.
The offence, framed under Section 448 of the Penal Code, carries a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to RM5,000, or both.
The court heard that the offences were committed on April 2 at about 9.20 am at Level 9 of the Baitulmakmur 1 building in Petra Jaya, where Shaifullah not only trespassed but also attempted to steal an honorary medal from the Transit Premier’s Office.
Facts of the case revealed that Shaifullah had entered the building without permission. He was later apprehended by auxiliary police.
Items seized from him included a backpack, one medal, two caps bearing the words “MANRED” and “Snow Cap”, two pieces of clothing, a pocket book (Pol. 5), and four sheets of A4 paper.
Investigations revealed that Shaifullah had trespassed into the former Sarawak Premier’s Office on several occasions.
On March 24 at about 7.30 am, he allegedly posed as a contractor and gained entry through the basement after registering with auxiliary police on duty.
Taking advantage of ongoing minor renovation works on Level 2, he loitered there until falling asleep and later used the emergency staircase to reach Level 9, where he found a pantry door unlocked.
He entered the area and subsequently exited via the same route, deliberately leaving the door unsecured.
The following day at about 6.30 am, he returned to the premises carrying a backpack containing a small pillow, clothing and food.
He used facilities within the office, including the surau, rest area and pantry, where he cooked instant noodles, and spent the night there before leaving the next morning.
On April 1 at about 8pm, Shaifullah again trespassed into the Premier’s office and stayed overnight until he was detected and arrested at about 9.20am the following day by auxiliary police conducting a patrol.
Further inspection upon his arrest found that he had attempted to steal a medal, identified as the “Ahli Kehormat PERKIM” award belonging to the private seretary. The medal was recovered from his possession.
In a separate case, Shaifullah was also fined RM4,000, in default six months’ imprisonment, after pleading guilty to self-administering dangerous drugs, namely amphetamine and methamphetamine, in 2022.
The court further ordered him to undergo police supervision for two years upon completion of his sentence.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutors Muhammad Aidil Akmal Sharidan and Ahmad Fauzultfi Suriani, while Shaifullah was not represented.
