Low Yat phone thief gets four months’ jail
Facing the music: Shahrul making his way to the court in Kuala Lumpur.
KUALA LUMPUR: Unemployed Shahrul Anuar Abdul Aziz was jailed four months and fined RM1,000 for stealing a handphone at Low Yat Plaza.
Shahrul, 23, will have to serve an additional month in jail should he fail to pay the fine.
He was charged under Section 380 of the Penal Code for stealing a Lenovo S860 phone worth RM800 from a shop in Low Yat Plaza at 4.47pm on July 11 last year.
In pleading for leniency, lawyer Shaharudin Ali said his client came from a poor family and he was robbed of his wallet, handphone and other personal belongings in the same morning that the offence was committed.
Shaharudin also said the assault that Shahrul was subjected to by the owners of the phone shop shortly after the incident was already a show of the public’s disapproval for his offence.
It was widely reported that the incident was at the centre of a riot that occurred at the shopping centre later that evening.
Deputy Public Prosecutor S. Malini Anne argued that the court needed to send a message to the public to deter individuals from committing theft.
She added that being an adult, the accused should have also weighed the outcome of his actions upon his family before committing the offence.
Malini said Shahrul was also under the influence of drugs when he stole the phone.
After the judgment was handed out, Shaharudin applied for a stay of execution as they would file an appeal to the High Court.
Magistrate Nur A’minahtul Mardiah Md Nor granted the stay but ordered the fine to be paid immediately.
He paid the fine.
On July 14 last year, Shahrul claimed trial to the theft charge.
On Feb 12 this year, he was also fined RM2,000 in a separate case by a magistrate’s court here after pleading guilty to drug abuse, an offence he committed on July 12, 2015.
