A 46-year-old security guard in Melaka was fined RM1,500 by the Ayer Keroh Magistrate’s Court yesterday (27 January) after pleading guilty to stealing groceries worth RM131.50 from a shopping mall.
The accused, Mohamad Ghazali Maidin, entered his plea after the charge was read before Magistrate Sharda Shienha Mohd Suleiman.
According to the charge sheet, Mohamad stole two packets of powdered milk, two bottles of shampoo and a bottle of laundry detergent at around 10.30am on 21 January.
Case facts revealed that CCTV footage showed him placing the items into a trolley before pushing it out through a first-floor exit without making payment. He then fled the scene on a motorcycle.
Mohamad was charged under Section 379 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of up to seven years’ jail, a fine, or both.
Deputy public prosecutor Syaza Nur Sharif urged the court to impose an appropriate punishment.
However, Mohamad’s lawyer from the National Legal Aid Foundation, Muhammad Izzuddin Ab Malek, pleaded for leniency, saying his client — a father of four — committed the offence out of desperation due to financial difficulties.
The court eventually imposed a fine of RM1,500, with a one-month jail term in default of payment.
