Fadley Faisal
The Intermediate Court yesterday sentenced 35-year-old local Mohamad Fairuz bin Awang Muda to three years’ imprisonment and three strokes of the cane for housebreaking.
Earlier, Mohamad Fairuz, permanent resident Roslee bin Abdul Hamid and local Noorazlan bin Anuar faced a joint charge of house-breaking by night in Jalan Nakhoda Manis in Seria to commit theft, sometime between July 25 and 26.
Mohamad Fairuz pleaded guilty, while Rosli and Noorazlan claimed trial.
Noorazlan, a former policeman, faces additional charges of attempting to escape from the custody of the Seria Police Station on August 14 in which he was lawfully detained for the offence of housebreaking by night, two counts of committing mischief by damaging the vertical blinds of the Seria Police Station on August 14, for damaging a police cell fluorescent ceiling light of Seria Police Station on August 16, and for dishonest retention of a bicycle frame sometime between July 7 and August 14.
Prosecutor Sabrina binti Haji Mahmud informed Court that on July 29, a woman who had just returned from Australia, had visited her brother’s Jalan Nakhoda Manis home at 10.33am, only to discover it had been ransacked. She called her brother, who instructed her to lodge a police report.
Footage from a hidden CCTV showed three individuals roaming around the house past midnight on July 26. Police investigations led to Mohamad Fairuz’s arrest.
Mohamad Fairuz admitted to stealing several torch lights, telescopes, a pair of hand gloves, a pen drive, a pair of Nike Air Jordan shoes, one iPhone 5 and BND50.
Meanwhile, Noorazlan has only pleaded guilty to causing damage to a fluorescent ceiling light at Seria Police Station cell while locked up.
The court heard that after returning from a court mention at Kuala Belait Magistrate’s Court on August 16, Noorazlan was placed in a cell. At 3.45pm, he aggressively climbed towards the top cell window bar and struck the fluorescent ceiling light with his hand, causing the light to shatter. Injured, he was brought to Suri Seri Begawan Hospital for treatment.
Judge Pengiran Masni binti Pengiran Haji Bahar adjourned the case against the duo.