The Magistrate’s Court recently handed an 18-month jail sentence to a 46-year-old permanent resident for cable theft.
Acting Senior Magistrate Dewi Norlelawati binti Haji Abdul Hamid handed the sentence to Ariffin bin Gerip on January 18 after he pleaded guilty to stealing earthing wire cables from residential properties of an oil and gas company in Seria.
Prosecutor Ruzana Adanan revealed that the defendant was caught red handed at 11.50am on January 10 by security personnel guarding the property. They first came across tyre tracks, traced it to the defendant’s car parked outside one of the houses.
The defendant found carrying a bag containing the stolen items outside a house was immediately detained.
Police on being alerted arrested the defendant.
Investigations revealed that the defendant stole a total of 5.7 metres (m) of 25 millimetres (mm) earthing wire cables and 0.5 m of 6mm earthing wire cables rolled up in a cabinet in one of the houses.
He also confessed to have gathered aluminium rods from the houses but left it to go to his car with the cables and to collect them later. – Fadley Faisal
