Fadley Faisal
The High Court dismissed a convicted thief’s appeal against an 18-months’ jail sentence, citing that it was “not excessive”, and that a three-year sentence should have been imposed instead.
Chief Justice Dato Seri Paduka Steven Chong looked at the application from the turn of events up until its court proceedings.
DPP Raihan Nabilah binti Haji Ahmad Ghazali, who prosecuted the case and acted as respondent in the appeal, revealed that Nurul Furqan Awang Morshidi was convicted after being tried for charges of auto theft and two thefts from a building.
The court heard that on the night of October 8, 2019, Nurul Furqan and an accomplice travelled by car to a shop in Kampong Lumapas. The accomplice entered the shop through a window, from which he later made away with seven dart boards, a power drill, gas cylinder and backpack.
Nurul Furqan, the lookout, assisted in carrying the stolen items into the car.
On the same night, Nurul Furqan went to the garage of a Kampong Pintu Malim home, where he stole a vehicle.
In the early hours of October 11, Nurul Furqan and an accomplice headed to a convenience store in Jalan Subok. The accomplice used a cutter to access the locked storeroom, before both men loaded 17 crates of soft drinks, seven boxes of potatoes and three boxes of Vitamin C into the vehicle.
The Chief Justice saw no merit in giving consideration to the application as Nurul Furqan “has not been deterred by that sentence from committing further offences”, while reflecting his record of 13- month jail sentence for a 2017 theft conviction and that he had re-offended within a year of his release.
The High Court recommended that a more severe sentence should have been handed to Nurul Furqan before dismissing the appeal.
