Intermediate Court Judge Hajah Hazarena binti Pehin Orang Kaya Setia Jaya Dato Paduka Haji Hurairah yesterday sentenced a security guard to two years’ jail, with two whippings for housebreaking by night for theft.
Mohammad Zambri bin Haji Mahat, 32, posted at Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Secondary School committed the offence while working for the security company.
Upon his guilty plea, Prosecutor Nur Hidayatul Aeny Alisah binti Haji Zullizam revealed in court that the defendant was on duty on May 4 from 6am to 6pm.
The defendant stayed back at the school after duty for his brother, who was also a security personnel.
While waiting for his brother, the defendant received a WhatsApp message from a person asking him to pay off his debt.
The defendant, feeling anxious, decided to steal money from the teacher’s staff room to settle his owings.
On May 5, sometime after midnight, the defendant executed his plan, went to the staff room where he saw a window with a loose lock and forced it open. The defendant entered and examined the teachers’ tables.
He found a sealed can used to store money. The defendant tried to pry open the tin but was unsuccessful.
The defendant then took the can with him.
The defendant pried open one of the teacher’s cabinets and found 26 pieces of BND1 notes.
When the defendant was about to leave the teacher’s staffroom with the items, he saw a CCTV camera on top of a cabinet.
The defendant unplugged the CCTV camera and took the device with him. The defendant left the staff room through the window together with the stolen items.
The defendant’s actions were caught on CCTV up until he unplugged it.
On exiting the staffroom, the defendant heard his brother calling for him, causing him to panic. This caused him to dispose the CCTV camera in the school hut.
The defendant asked a colleague to throw away the CCTV camera.
The defendant later opened the stolen can and discovered it contained 50-cent coins amounting to BND30.
The following day, the defendant spent the cash, totalling BND56, to pay off
his debt.
During police investigations, the defendant admitted to committing the offence.
None of the stolen items were recovered. On record, the defendant has no previous criminal convictions.
Police investigations aided by CCTV footage led to the defendant’s arrest. – Fadley Faisal
