“Why did you borrow from loan sharks? You are still young and your life journey is still long,” the Sessions Court judge said before sentencing a convenience store worker to nine years in prison after she pleaded guilty to criminal breach of trust involving RM32,102.60.
Judge Osman Affendi Mohd Shalleh made the remark before handing down the sentence on Nurfatin Najwa Ahmad Bzli, 23, who admitted to seven charges under Section 408 of the Penal Code.
The court imposed a one-year jail term each for the first, second, fourth and fifth charges, two years for the third charge, and 18 months each for the sixth and seventh charges.
All sentences were ordered to run consecutively from the date of her arrest on March 28.
In his judgment, Osman said the court must take into account the seriousness of the offence before passing sentence, adding that it was a deeply regrettable case given the accused’s circumstances.
“You have been helping your parents, but what has happened is very saddening,” he said.
According to the charges, the unmarried accused misappropriated daily sales cash amounting to RM32,102.60 belonging to a convenience store at Taman Soga between March 21 and 27.
Section 408 of the Penal Code provides for a maximum penalty of up to 14 years’ imprisonment, caning, and a fine upon conviction.
Facts of the case showed that the complainant, who was the store manager, discovered significant discrepancies in the cash that was supposed to have been banked in between March 19 and 27, 2026.
During investigations, the accused admitted to using the money for personal expenses, including repaying loan shark debts.
Prosecutors were led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharifah Natasha Syed Ahmad, while the accused was represented by lawyer Mohd Razak Shariff.
When asked by the court why she took the money, she said she was forced to do so to settle debts owed to multiple loan sharks.
“I borrowed from loan sharks to pay my friend’s debt. My friend refused to pay instalments, so I had no choice,” she said.
