MELAKA: A security guard has been fined RM1,500 by the Ayer Keroh Magistrate’s Court here on Tuesday (Jan 27) after pleading guilty to stealing at a shopping mall.
The accused, Mohamad Ghazali Maidin, 46, entered the plea before Magistrate Sharda Shienha Mohd Suleiman after the charge was read out.
He was accused of stealing two packets of powdered milk, two bottles of shampoo and a bottle of laundry detergent, worth a total of RM131.50, from the mall's supermarket at about 10.30am on Jan 21.
According to the facts of the case, the accused was identified through closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showing him placing the items in a trolley before pushing it out through the first-floor exit without making any payment.
He then took the items home on a motorcycle.
He was charged under Section 379 of the Penal Code for theft, which provides for a jail term of up to seven years, a fine, or both upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Syaza Nur Sharif requested an appropriate sentence against the accused.
Meanwhile, the accused, represented by National Legal Aid Foundation lawyer Muhammad Izzuddin Ab Malek, appealed for a minimum sentence on the grounds that he has four children and stole out of desperation due to financial hardship.
The court then imposed the fine, with a one-month jail term in default of payment.
