Man jailed 24 months in Kuching for retaining stolen clothing

KUCHING (Feb 9): A 23-year-old man was sentenced to a total of 24 months’ imprisonment by the Magistrates’ Court here on Monday for dishonestly retaining a stolen Nike sweater and an anime graphic T-shirt.

Allenick Tinggom pleaded guilty before Senior Assistant Registrar Abdurrahman Abrar Jarni when the two charges — one for each piece of clothing — under Section 411 of the Penal Code were read to him.

He was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment for each charge. The court ordered that his sentences run concurrently.

The section carries imprisonment for a term of up to five years, or a fine, or both, upon conviction.

Allenick was found to have dishonestly retained the two items, which were believed to be stolen at the car park of Kota Sentosa Police Station at about 12.21pm on Jan 5.

According to the facts of the case, a 43-year-old complainant discovered the front door of his house ajar and the interior in disarray, consistent with a break-in.

He lodged a police report stating that there were two pieces of clothing missing: the shirt and sweater.

Police investigations led to Allenick’s arrest at a court in Kota Samarahan on Jan 5. During the arrest, he showed police where he had kept the clothing, which was inside a pickup truck parked at the Kota Sentosa Police Station car park.

Allenick failed to provide any reasonable explanation for his possession of the items.

Deputy public prosecutor Afiq Safly Nor Kazly appeared for the prosecution, while Allenick was unrepresented.