KUCHING: Two individuals were sentenced to a RM5,000 fine each, in default seven months’ imprisonment by the Magistrates’ Court here today (Apr 20), for stealing manhole cables in early March.
Bakeri Chundi, 44, and Mohd Suffian Abdullah, 29, pleaded guilty to the charges read before Magistrate Leona Dominic Mojiliu.
They were charged under Section 431A of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to two years, or a fine, or both, upon conviction.
The duo, together with 22-year-old Syed Arsyad Wan Hazini and a 19-year-old female acquaintance, committed the offence at about 2.50 pm on March 7 by stealing cables from a manhole along a roadside near Jalan Mendu using a van.
According to the facts of the case, two police officers spotted the van at the scene with cables being pulled from the manhole.
The officers approached and ordered the occupants to exit the vehicle. However, Bakeri and Mohd Suffian fled the scene on a motorcycle.
A search of the van uncovered a hacksaw, a hammer, a crowbar, a screwdriver found on the manhole cover, and a cable tied to the rear of the vehicle. All items were seized, and the two remaining suspects were arrested at the scene.
Five days later, on March 12, police apprehended Bakeri and Mohd Suffian. Investigations confirmed that all four individuals were involved in the theft.
Meanwhile, Syed Arsyad and the female acquaintance pleaded not guilty to the charge.
They were released on bail of RM1,000 each, without deposit, with one local surety. Pre-trial case management has been fixed for May 19.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Aidil Akmal Sharidan, while all four individuals were unrepresented.
