IPOH: A plumber was sentenced to five years' imprisonment by the Sessions Court here after pleading guilty to committing mischief by fire.
Muhammad Sofian Maisa, 35, pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 435 of the Penal Code before Sessions Court judge Norhayati Mohamad Yunus on Friday (Oct 2).
He was accused of pouring petrol, a flammable substance, onto a car at a house in Desa Pengkalan Mutiara on June 13 at about 4.15am.
He also pleaded guilty at the Magistrate’s Court to four charges under Section 427 of the Penal Code before magistrate S. Punitha.
He allegedly splashed paint on the gates, tiles and exterior walls of houses, as well as two vehicles, at different locations here between April and July, involving estimated losses of RM3,830.
He was sentenced to one year in prison for each of the first two charges, with the sentences served concurrently, while 18 months for each of the remaining charges and 18 months for each of the remaining two charges.
Meanwhile, in a separate Magistrate’s Court, Sofian faced five more charges of committing similar offences involving five other victims at different locations here between April and June, involving losses of about RM2,450.
He pleaded guilty to all five charges before magistrate Norizan Riduan.
Deputy Public Prosecutor S. Kirthana urged the court to impose an appropriate sentence, considering the impact and losses suffered by the victims and to serve as a deterrent.
National Legal Aid Foundation lawyer Robert Gnanarajan, who represented the accused, appealed for a minimum prison sentence.
He told the court that Sofian worked sporadically for about RM100 a day to support his housewife and two children, aged seven and one month.
Gnanarajan said Sofian regretted his actions, had cooperated with the police and was prepared to take responsibility for his actions and accept the consequences.
He also said Sofian had previously borrowed RM5,000 from an illegal moneylender and was allegedly instructed to carry out three tasks for the moneylender in Kerian, Taiping and Ipoh.
Sofian began serving his sentence from Friday.
