KUANTAN: A physically disabled man was sentenced by a Magistrate's Court here Wednesday (July 15) to 14 months' imprisonment and fined RM3,000 after pleading guilty to a charge of house-breaking and theft.
Magistrate Ellyna Othman ordered S. Guna, 33, to serve the prison sentence from the date of his arrest on July 3. He will face an additional nine months' imprisonment if he fails to pay the fine.
Guna was charged jointly with a Myanmar national, Mohd Sharuf Nizam Mohd Hanif, 26, and another individual who remains at large, with breaking into a house and stealing a gold necklace, a gold bracelet, three gold pendants, and a mobile phone belonging to a 27-year-old woman.
The offence was allegedly committed at a house on Jalan Bukit Setongkol, Taman Muhibah, at 9.58am on June 25.
The charge was framed under Section 457 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to five years for house-breaking and up to 14 years, as well as a fine, where the offence involves theft.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor B. Deevagaran Naidu urged the court to impose an appropriate sentence as a deterrent to prevent similar offences.
Counsel Rahiza Zulkifli, from the National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK), appealed for a lighter sentence, citing her client's physical disability, his dependence on a RM650 monthly welfare allowance from the Social Welfare Department (JKM), and his responsibility to support his wife and three children.
In the same proceedings, Mohd Sharuf Nizam, who holds a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card, pleaded not guilty to the same charge.
The prosecution proposed bail of RM7,000 with two sureties. However, defence counsel Mohd Shuhairil Ziqrul Sapi sought a lower amount, telling the court that his client earns RM1,400 a month working for an environmental and solid waste management company and supports his wife and child.
The court granted bail at RM4,500 with two sureties and fixed July 29 for mention. - Bernama
