KUCHING: A 31-year-old man was sentenced to five months in prison by the Magistrate’s Court today for disposing of stolen property – a steamer and a gas canister belonging to his mother, last August.
Magistrate Syarifah Fatimah Azura Wan Ali sentenced Phoo Ah Then, 31, after pleading guilty to the two charges read before him.
According to both charges, he was charged with selling the items belonging to his 57-year-old mother to other people in Kampung Sungai Agas Lama, Jalan Matang, at around 3pm on 25 August.
Prosecution of both charges under Section 414 of the Penal Code, which carries a prison sentence of up to seven years or a fine or both upon conviction.
For the first charge, he was sentenced to two months in prison while the second charge was sentenced to five months in prison.
However, the court determined the accused to serve a prison sentence effective from the date of his arrest on Aug 26.
According to the facts of the case, on Aug 24, the complainant (mother) realised that her steaming pot was believed to have been stolen by her son (accused).
When asked about the whereabouts of the pot, the complainant’s son continued to scold her.
A day after the incident, the complainant’s son once again stole an item in the house which was a gas canister while the complainant was not at home going out to work.
The estimated loss of the properties by the complainant is around RM270.
The complainant then made a police report for further action and investigation leading to the arrest of the accused on Aug 26.
The investigation found that the accused had sold the items to two different men.
The prosecution of the case was handled by Prosecuting Officer Inspector Mohd Adzmei Ahmad while the accused was not represented by a lawyer.
