Man jailed for lorry cable theft attempt

SIBU: A 24-year-old man was sentenced to one year in prison by the Magistrates’ Court here today (Oct 5) after pleading guilty to attempting to steal cables and wire components from an earth-moving lorry in Jalan Oya Lama.

The sentence was imposed by Magistrate Romario Jonoi, who ordered the jail term to take effect from the date of conviction.

Rohaime Mohammad of Kampung Jeriah committed the offence together with two other men, who are still at large, at about 11.15 am on July 30.

According to the facts of the case, the complainant, Ling Leh Kiin, 57, was informed by his friend, Ting Siew Kong, that three unidentified men had approached his earth-moving lorry, which was parked along the roadside of Jalan Oya Lama.

The trio had arrived on a motorcycle and were allegedly armed with a parang and wire cutters.

They were seen attempting to cut the cables attached to the lorry before fleeing when confronted by a witness.

Police later detained Rohaime at Kampung Jeriah, Abang Ramli, Mile 7½, Jalan Oya, following a tip-off on Sept 22. A body search was conducted, but no unlawful items were found.

He was subsequently re-arrested at the roadside of Jalan Awang Ramli Amit on Sept 29 in connection with the case.

Investigations established that Rohaime was one of the three men involved in the attempted theft.

The witness positively identified him during an identification parade and stated that he had seen the three men cutting the lorry’s cable and wire components while carrying wire cutters and a parang.

Police also traced the motorcycle used during the incident to its owner, Szali Sarizan, whose son, Shaamizal Szali, said the motorcycle had been borrowed by Rohaime earlier that day.

The accused’s statement was also recorded during the remand period.

Rohaime was charged under Section 379A(1) read with Section 511 of the Penal Code, which deals with attempted theft involving a motor vehicle component.

Section 379A(1) provides for imprisonment of between one and seven years and a fine upon conviction, while Section 511 covers attempts to commit offences.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Syazani Izzaddin, while the accused was unrepresented by legal counsel.