KUCHING: A 25-year-old man was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment by the Magistrates’ Court here today for stealing construction equipment belonging to his uncle.
Amir Hamzah Mohd Rashidan pleaded guilty to the offence under Section 380 of the Penal Code before Magistrate Leona Dominic Mojiliu.
The court ordered Amir Hamzah’s prison sentence to commence from the date of sentencing.
Section 380 of the Penal Code provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine upon conviction.
According to the charge, the accused stole a Karcher water jet, a Bosch cement breaker and an unbranded cement breaker from a house near RPR Batu Kawa Lorong 13 about 1.30 pm on April 22.
The facts of the case revealed that the complainant, who is his uncle, discovered that the doorknob to an upstairs room in his house had been damaged and several items, including the three machines and a roll of wire, were missing. The total loss was estimated at about RM800.
Following a police report, investigations led officers from the Padawan district police headquarters’ Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to arrest Amir Hamzah in Petra Jaya on June 5.
Police also recovered the stolen items, namely a yellow Karcher water jet, a green Bosch cement breaker and a blue unbranded cement breaker.
Investigations found that the accused had sold the stolen equipment together with an accomplice to a buyer in Kampung Bintawa.
The recovered items were later identified by the complainant as those stolen from his house.
It was further understood that the accused committed the theft to obtain money for online gambling activities.
Based on the evidence gathered, police concluded that the accused had committed theft in a building used for the custody of property, leading to the charge under Section 380 of the Penal Code.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Fauzulutfi Suriani prosecuted the case. The accused was unrepresented.
