KUCHING: A Sessions Court here yesterday postponed to Aug 8, delivery of judgment on a case of mischief by fire involving two youths.
The case is pending their social and probation report.
Judge Amernudin Ahmad fixed the date after the accused Voon Wen King, 20, from Kampung Jernang Baru and a 17-year-old accused from Tabuan Jaya Tengah pleaded guilty to the charge framed against them under Section 436 of the Penal Code.
If found guilty, they could be jailed up to 10 years and fined.
They admitted setting fire to a just completed semi-detached house at Jalan Kempas between 10.25pm and 10.51pm on Jan 22 this year.
The offence was allegedly committed with a third accomplice who died after he was torched while committing the mischief.
According to the brief facts of the case, a housing developer was informed by a worker that one of the semi-detached house was on fire.
The developer, who was also the complainant, rushed to the site to see sw burnt marks in the common room of the house. He estimated losses from the fire to be around RM100,000.
Following the report, the two accused were arrested on July 2 by a group of policemen from Kota Samarahan Police Station.
The third accomplice was believed to have been hired by someone to burn down the house.
On the day of the incident, he brought along the two accused and promised to pay them RM500 each.
The 17-year-old accused heard an explosion coming from the house and saw a big fire before seeing the accomplice run out, his body in flames.
Both the accused got him into their vehicle before sending him to hospital.
The Court granted a RM5,000 bail with both accused’s parents as sureties and ordered them to report to the nearest police station next month until disposal of the case.
ASP Austin Patrick Angkon prosecuted while both the accused were not represented by any lawyer.