SHAH ALAM, Sept 11 – A man was fined RM2,000 by the Magistrate's Court here after pleading guilty to stealing 65 items worth RM730.97 from a supermarket in Subang Jaya last December.
Mohd Aslizan Mustafa Maarof, 39, pleaded guilty to the charge before Magistrate Cynthia Noor Haizean Sulaiman, who also ordered the accused to serve a 10-day prison sentence if he failed to pay the fine.
According to a BH Online report, the stolen items included toothpaste, fresh chicken, baby oil, infant formula, instant noodles, chicken stock cubes, layer cake, and cotton buds.
According to the charge, the accused, who works as an administrative assistant at a vehicle battery delivery company, committed the offense at a supermarket in Subang Jaya at 7pm on December 20 last year.
The charge was brought under Section 379 of the Penal Code, which provides for a prison sentence of up to seven years, a fine, or both, upon conviction.
In her plea for mitigation, National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK) lawyer S. Vijeswari Devi stated that the accused is the sole breadwinner for a family of seven, including an autistic child.
She noted that the accused suffers from heart problems and would lose his source of income due to the conviction.
"Therefore, we request a bond under Section 173A of the Criminal Procedure Code without a conviction being recorded.
“The accused is also prepared to pay compensation should the bond not be granted, and requests a minimum fine," she said.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Alya Zaphfirah Al Zaphni requested that the court impose an appropriate sentence and order the accused to pay compensation to the supermarket in question.
