KUCHING: A 45-year-old man was sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment by the Magistrates’ Court here today for breaking into a second-hand shop near Jalan Rock last month.
Magistrate Nursyaheeqa Nazwa Radzali imposed the sentence on Rufika Mohamad Hamden after he pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 457 of the Penal Code.
The provision carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a fine. Where the offence intended to be committed is theft, the imprisonment term may extend to 14 years, with a fine or whipping for a second or subsequent offence.
The court ordered Rufika to serve the sentence from the date of conviction today.
The court heard that he committed the offence at the second-hand shop at about 12.58am on Aug 2.
According to the facts of the case, the shop owner was informed by a worker at about 8.24am that the premises had been broken into by an unknown person.
An inspection found several second-hand items missing, while the owner’s office had been left in disarray.
Among the items reported missing were two sets of Makita battery drills, a battery drill, an AMP mixer, two car amplifiers, two parang semurai, four Iban parang ilang and two keris.
Police subsequently traced Rufika through CCTV footage recorded at the premises.
Investigations also led to the seizure of a grey Acer backpack, a black cap and a pair of black Kentor slippers belonging to Rufika, which were found to be similar to those seen in the CCTV footage.
The prosecution was conducted by Inspector Siti Radhiah Abdul Rahman, while Rufika was unrepresented.
