Duo land in jail for stealing cables

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KOTA KINABALU (Apr 17): Two men were jailed for 15 months by a Magistrate’s Court here on Monday for stealing cables belonging to a telecommunications company.

Magistrate Jessica Ombou Kakayun meted out the sentence to Jamrey Jamil, 30, and Jaidi Jaya, 37, after they pleaded guilty to the charge.

They were sentenced under Section 379 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to seven years, fine, or both, on conviction.

Jamrey and Jaidi had allegedly stolen a roll of cables about 40 metres belonging to Telekom Malaysia on April 12 in front of Condominium Bay 21 in Likas.

The facts of the case stated that the duo was nabbed by the Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) auxiliary police for the crime.

SESB also confiscated a hacksaw, metal cutters, Allen key sets, screwdrivers, plastic bags and motorcycles.

Police then arrested the accused following a report lodged by Telekom’s contractor.

During mitigation, National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK) counsel Lim Ming Zoong @ Lawrence, who represented Jamrey, told the court that the accused could not afford to pay the fine as he only worked as a part-time contractor.

Lim said Jamrey is single with elderly parents to look after, and the accused did not benefit from the stolen item as it was returned to the owner.

YBGK counsel Carmen Khoo, representing Jaidi said the accused who works as a part-time waiter had four children and was the sole breadwinner of the family.

Khoo asked for a minimum fine to be imposed on Jaidi.

SESB had recently launched an auxiliary police team to ensure the safety of its infrastructure, in response to the recent rampant theft of its cables.

SESB auxiliary police have since been carrying out surveillance and patrols in high-risk areas where there were frequent cable thefts.