A labourer was fined RM2,000 by the Magistrate’s Court here on Friday after pleading guilty to committing mischief by smashing a car window with a brick earlier this week.
Magistrate S Punitha handed down the sentence to R Paremsvaran, 43, and ordered him to serve four months in jail if he fails to pay the fine.
According to the charge, the father of nine was accused of damaging the front left side window of a car belonging to 25-year-old Muhammad Aidil Zikry Zalfri, causing losses estimated at RM500.
The offence took place at a parking area along Jalan Mustafa Al-Bakri, in front of a gadget shop, at about 11.40pm on April 21.
The charge was framed under Section 427 of the Penal Code, which provides for a jail term of between one and five years, or a fine, or both upon conviction.
During mitigation, National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK) lawyer Dayang Nor Emilia Azman Shah requested a lenient penalty, stating that her client earns around RM50 a day with unstable income and is the sole breadwinner for his family.
She added that the accused has nine children, with the eldest aged 19 and the youngest born just on April 13, and that his early guilty plea reflected remorse.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Zulqarnain Wan Asmira urged the court to impose a heavier sentence, citing public interest as the case had gone viral on social media and caused losses to the victim.
Based on the facts presented, the accused had approached the victim to offer car polishing services before placing materials on the vehicle’s headlamp without consent and demanding RM60 per lamp.
When the victim refused to pay, the accused allegedly became aggressive and used a brick to smash the front passenger window, with debris reportedly striking the victim’s wife, before fleeing the scene.
