KUCHING: Two accomplices were sentenced to jail and fined by the Magistrate’s Court here yesterday (Nov 7) for splashing red paint onto gates and leaving criminal threat notes against three men in two separate incidents.
Ester Viviana, 28, and Jackson Dunggat, 32. who are both employees of a moneylending company, pleaded guilty to two charges under Section 427 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same Code.
The first charge read before Magistrate Ling Hui Chuan stated that the duo had deliberately damaged property by splashing red paint onto the gate of a 37-year-old man’s house at Lorong Menggris at 3 pm on Oct 14.
The court imposed a fine of RM8,000 or 12 months’ imprisonment on Ester while Jackson was fined RM5,000 or 10 months’ imprisonment in default.
Before Magistrate Mason Jaro Lenya Barayan, both were also found guilty of a similar offence at a 34-year-old man’s house along Jalan Field Force, Batu Kawa, causing RM300 in damages. The offence was committed at 6.30 am on Oct 13.
For that charge, they were each fined RM3,500 or 12 months in jail in default.
Both accused also received 12 months’ imprisonment each after admitting to threatening to burn down the home of a 63-year-old man at Jalan Menggris around 1.35 pm on Oct 14. The charge was framed under Section 506 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34.
Based on the facts of the case, the duo’s modus operandi involved splashing red paint from a plastic bottle onto victims’ gates and leaving notes containing criminal threats to intimidate the victims into repaying their debts to the company.
Their actions, however, were captured by closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed at the scene, leading to their swift identification and arrest at two separate locations.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Aidil Akmal Sharidan and Prosecuting Officer Inspector Nur Shafiqa Nyaie Ilin conducted the prosecution.
