Security guard gets six months for copper wire theft

KUCHING: The Magistrates’ Court today (Jan 11) sentenced Mohad Rizal Juman, a 30-year-old security guard from Tawau, Sabah, to six months in prison.

The charges stemmed from his theft of copper wire belonging to a luxury car distributor company in early January.

Rizal pleaded guilty to the charges under Section 381 of the Penal Code, as read by the interpreter before Magistrate Mason Jaro Lenya Barayan.

The charge sheet indicated that the offence occurred at the premises of the involved company around 6.42am on Jan 1. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison and be fined.

As per the case details, on Jan 5, the building maintenance supervisor made a startling discovery during an inspection, finding that the company’s copper wire had been pilfered.

Subsequently, a police report by the complainant led to the arrest of Rizal at a house in Tabuan Cemerlang on Jan 6.

Further investigations revealed that Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage from Jan 1, scrutinised by the complainant, unequivocally captured the accused in the act of stealing the relevant wire.

Notably, the accused had a history of six prior criminal records, involving burglary in Sabah, two theft records, and two records related to drug abuse.

Deputy public prosecutor Inspector Merylene Lindan Andrew Mang handled the prosecution while the accused was not represented by legal counsel.