KUCHING: The Magistrate’s Court here sentenced an unemployed man to seven months in prison for stealing trousers cost RM149.90 from a leading shopping mall and involvement in substance abuse activities two months ago.
Zulfiqar, 30, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Mason Jaro Lenya Barayan on two charges framed under the Penal Code and the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
For the first charge under Section 380 of the Penal Code, he was accused of stealing a pair of trousers from a clothing store at Jalan Wan Alwi at around 9.30pm on Sept 28.
Under the second charge, framed under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, Zulfiqar was found to have abused amphetamine and methamphetamine drugs.
The offense was detected while he was detained at the Kuching Narcotics Criminal Investigation Division (NCID) office at around 4.55am on Sept 29.
Mason Jaro sentenced Zulfiqar to one month in prison for theft, and six months in prison for the drug offense.
Based on the case facts, the store supervisor noticed two men behaving suspiciously in the premises. Upon checking the CCTV footage, the complainant noticed that one of the men had placed a pair of trousers worth RM149.90 in a bag.
The complainant later alerted the mall’s auxiliary police for assistance, which led to the finding of the trousers, unpaid for, in Zulfiqar’s bag.
He was later handed over to the police for further action. Investigations confirmed that Zulfiqar’s actions were captured on the store’s CCTV.
