KUCHING: A man walked out a free man after he was discharged and acquitted of all charges by the Magistrate’s Court here today (Aug 2) for allegedly causing RM64,800 in damages to several properties belonging to his ex-wife.
Magistrate Syarifah Fatimah Azura Wan Ali ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against Zulkarnaen Jamanil, 48, on seven charges under Section 427 of the Penal Code.
According to the first charge sheet, he was charged with damaging the ceiling of a car, causing a loss of RM12,000. On the second charge he was accused of damaging the lighting of a house, causing losses of RM2,400.
For the third and fourth charges, he was accused of damaging 24 units of switches and sockets of a house and its kitchen cabinets where losses amounted to between RM10,000 and RM15,000.
For the remaining three charges he was accused of damaging six kitchen lights resulting in a loss of RM2,400, damaging the kitchen ceiling (RM8,000 loss), and damaging an electricity metre (RM15,000 loss).
The properties belong to the Zulkarnaen’s ex-wife, 37.
The accused, who is a businessman, allegedly committed the act at a house at Taman Alam Sari, Bandar Baru Semariang, here at around 3.30pm on Dec 16, 2020.
If convicted, he can be jailed up to one year or fined up to RM2,000 or both.
According to the facts of the case, the complainant who was divorced from the accused since Dec 14, 2020 went to her house to check on its condition.
She found the house with its locks changed, causing her to break into the residence by force.
The complainant found that her house had been vandalised, while some important documents were also missing.
She then lodged a police report.
Inspector Mohd Adzmei Ahmad prosecuted while the accused was represented by Abdul Rahman and Christopher Bada.
