KUCHING: A 42-year-old man was sentenced to a total of nine months’ imprisonment by two separate Magistrates’ Courts here today after pleading guilty to theft and dishonestly assisting in disposing of stolen property in two unrelated cases.
In the first case, Senior Assistant Registrar Abdurrahman Abrar Jami sentenced Mohamad Hanafi Arbi to three months’ imprisonment from the date of his conviction today after he admitted to a charge of theft under Section 379 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same Code.
The offence carries a jail term of up to seven years, or a fine, or both, upon conviction.
According to the facts of the case, the incident occurred at about 8.45 pm on July 20 outside of a cafe along Jalan Abell.
The 43-year-old victim had placed his sling bag on a table while having his meal before it was taken without his consent.
The bag contained his identity card, Maybank ATM card, Bank Islam ATM card, Class D driving licence, security guard identification card and RM300 in cash.
Police investigations led to Mohamad Hanafi’s arrest the following day.
Officers also recovered the complainant’s identity card from his possession and seized a silver Perodua Viva believed to have been used during the incident.
Investigations found that Mohamad Hanafi admitted taking the complainant’s bag and spending the stolen cash on prepaid phone credit and cigarettes.
His 21-year-old co-accused, who was initially charged jointly in the case, claimed trial to the charge. The court fixed Aug 28 for pre-trial case management.
In a separate proceeding before Magistrate Ling Hui Chuan, Mohamad Hanafi was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment from the date of conviction after pleading guilty to dishonestly assisting in disposing of stolen property.
He was charged under Section 414 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to seven years, or a fine, or both, upon conviction.
The charge stemmed from an incident on July 16 at a house in Kampung Semariang Batu, Petra Jaya, where he assisted in removing a dining table belonging to a 64-year-old woman, knowing or having reason to believe that it was stolen property.
The complainant discovered that her house, which had been left vacant for about three months, had been broken into, with numerous household items reported missing, including a folding mattress, heavy-duty vacuum cleaner, sewing machine, dining set, wardrobes, fishing equipment and other belongings, resulting in losses estimated at RM4,000.
Police arrested Mohamad Hanafi on July 24. During investigations, he surrendered the stolen dining table and admitted selling it to a third party.
Investigations also revealed that another suspect was not linked to the offence due to insufficient evidence, leading to Mohamad Hanafi being solely charged under Section 414 of the Penal Code.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Fauzulutfi Suriani and Muhammad Afiq Safly Nor Kazly prosecuted the cases, while the accused was unrepresented in both cases.
