Woman faces jail sentence for stealing from boyfriend

KUCHING: A local woman was sentenced to four months in prison by the Magistrate’s Court here today (Oct 17) for stealing electronic items and personal belongings from her British boyfriend in a luxury hotel last September.

Nurfazella, 33, from Kampung Bintawa Hilir, pleaded guilty to the charge read before Magistrate Syarifah Fatimah Azura Wan Alwi.

According to the charge sheet, she was accused under Section 380 of the Penal Code for stealing an Apple iPad Pro tablet, iPad cover, iPad Pencil, a Leica camera and lens, as well as credit and bank cards belonging to a 64-year-old British man.

She committed the offense in a prominent luxury hotel located at Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg, around 7:50 pm on September 12.

Based on the case facts, on September 28 at approximately 6:30 pm, a police team arrested a woman at a house in Kampung Bintawa Hilir, suspected of stealing items belonging to a foreign male tourist.

Investigations revealed that the accused took items from the hotel room, as shown in the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, which also showed her making a phone call and speaking to the hotel counter.

Prior to the theft, the accused gave a false excuse, claiming she had left her key in the room, prompting hotel staff to unlock the room for her. After entering the room, she took the items and exited via the stairs before heading to the parking area on the lower floor to leave the hotel premises.

Her actions were also witnessed by a security supervisor with access to the CCTV monitoring system.

At the time of her arrest, the stolen items were already missing, as the accused had sold it to others.

The prosecution was handled by Prosecuting Officer ASP Arman Ibrahim, while the accused was not represented by a lawyer.