The High Court recently sentenced a pair of locals involved in burglaries to jail and whipping.
Junainah binti Mustapa, 37, was handed 20 months’ imprisonment while Haji Mohd Yusrahni bin Sha’arani, 39, given 86 months with four whippings.
Prosecutor Aeny Zullizam’s charges against the duo were of house-breaking for theft, abetment and receiving stolen property.
They were part of a group who struck a house at Jalan Kelab Golf, Pantai Mentiri on August 18, 2022 where they made away with gold bars, jewellery and cash from a safe deposit box worth over BND4,000.
Junainah slept and woke up briefly to keep some of the stolen items while the others left to stash the items elsewhere.
She then went back to sleep to wake up the next morning from knocks on the front door. She answered the door to find a team of police officers arresting her.
The house owner was alerted by a worker and called the police.
Haji Mohd Yusrahni with other accomplices, but not Junainah, stole BND1,500 worth of property from breaking into a convenience store at Tanjong Nangka on August 11, 2022.
As the defendant and accomplices were loading stolen items into their vehicle, the store owner arrived from the house next door to confront the thieves causing them to scramble and flee the scene.
A police report was lodged leading to the defendant’s arrest.
Judicial Commissioner Haji Abdullah Soefri bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin agreed with the prosecution’s call for tougher sentence because of previous convictions and repeat offences.
“These type of offences often cause emotional distress, anxiety, concern, inconvenience and fear to the public. The defendant had disrupted the harmony and peace of people’s homes and leaving them a long-lasting apprehension, and trauma as to the safety of their private residences and properties,” the court concluded.
