Corpun file 12552

Borneo Bulletin, Bandar Seri Begawan, 8 January 2004

7 years, 12 strokes for ex-army man

By Rol Ezam

A 24-year-old former Army personnel received a minimum sentence of 7 years imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane yesterday after he pleaded guilty to committing theft of various prepaid phone cards costing more than $2,000 and cash from two retail shops last year.

Hj Abd Azis Hj Kadir, who was suspended from the Logistics Depot of the Bolkiah Camp in June last year, said he committed theft as he was under pressure to settle his debts.

He also pleaded guilty in the High Court yesterday to consuming methylamphetamine or locally known as 'syabu'. The Chief Justice Mohammed Saied sentenced him to two months imprisonment, which is to run concurrently.

The court heard that the father of two was on duty at the Bolkiah Camp on April 10 last year when he went out to get some food at about 9:30 am with his friend, another army personnel, using his blue Toyota Echo and never returned.

The defendant was driving the said car while his friend was at the front passenger's seat. When both of them reached Kampong Limau Manis, the defendant planned to rob a retail shop but his friend hesitated and decided to wait in the car. The defendant stopped somewhere at Kampong Limau Manis and took off both the front and rear licence plates of his car.

The defendant saw a retail shop at Kampong Pengkalan Batu in Limau Manis and parked his car outside Syarikat Mohd Nirwan. At the time there was only one shopkeeper, the court heard. The defendant went inside the shop and took a bottle of drink from the refrigerator and put it on the cashier's counter. He gave the shop assistant $10 for the drink. As the shop assistant was about to take out the change from the cash register, he went behind the counter and pointed a knife to the shop assistant's neck.

Hj Abd Azis demanded the shop assistant to take out the money from the cash register but the shop assistant refused as he was scared and just stood still. He then opened the drawer under the cash register and took one plastic container containing 91 various prepaid cards and cash amounting to $100 and ran to his car and drove off with his friend towards Kampong Kulapis.

Half an hour later both saw another retail shop, S.P.A.J.S Minimart, and decided to commit another robbery. Again the defendant went inside the shop while his friend stood waiting outside.

The defendant used similar tactics and took out a tray containing $1,300 from the cash register and pulled the drawer under the cash register from where he took a plastic container containing 56 various prepaid cards.

According to the Deputy Public Prosecutor, Hjh Anifa Rafiza Hj Abd Ghani, the defendant's friend is also facing charges. He is due to appear in the courthouse on January 12.

Copyright © 2004 Brunei Press Sdn Bhd. All right reserved.

Corpun file 12762

BruneiDirect.Com, BSB, 27 January 2004

Jail, Strokes For Thieving Malaysian Youth

By Rol Ezam

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Brunei High Court sentenced a 19-year-old Malaysian to 3 years imprisonment and 3 strokes of the cane at Jerudong Prison after he pleaded guilty to a charge of housebreaking by night and one count of theft.

In sentencing the defendant, Remy Mohd Ismail, the Chief Justice took into consideration the defendant's plea by giving him discounts on sentences on each charge.

He first sentenced the defendant to 3 years and 3 strokes for committing housebreaking by night by entering into the ventilator window of Wecan restaurant in Jalan Gadong between October 27 and November 28 last year to commit theft.

The defendant was then sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for stealing one generator belonging to his ex-employer on the February 13 last year at the Gadong Night stall.

However, the Chief Justice Mohammed Saied reduced the housebreaking sentence to two years and the theft sentence to twelve months imprisonment, which is to run consecutively. The strokes sentence remained unchanged.

According to the Prosecuting Officer, Nor Hafizah Ahmad, the defendant managed to steal one Acer laptop and a Canon projector, which belong to the said restaurant. He then sold the items, which have been recovered by the police, she said.

Meanwhile, he also stole the generator from his employer's trailer parked at the parking lot of the night stall where he admitted to having sold it for $50. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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