Judge Dismisses Prosecutor's Appeal Of Inadequate Sentence In Car Theft Case
By Rol Ezam

Bandar Seri Begawan - Chief Justice Mohammed Saied Tuesday dismissed an appeal the public prosecutor lodged against the sentences of eight thieves passed by the Magistrate's Court earlier who were convicted to 15 counts of theft, on the ground that the sentences were inadequate.

In the lower court the eight had pleaded guilty to the charges, of which 13 charges were for theft of cars, and of attempted theft and theft of electrical cable.

During the hearing, the Deputy Public Prosecutor submitted that the magistrate in sentencing had separated the respondents into two categories of, one is those termed as the 'principal' offenders who were able to open the vehicles with the keys that they had with them, and those with lesser or minor role who manned the getaway cars or perhaps acted as lookouts.

Furthermore, the DPP also conceded that the respondents had in fact assisted police in the case as they had maintained, as well as in some drugs cases, some other car thefts and also in the case of the man whose sentence for car thefts was recently enhanced on appeal.

"It seems to me that the magistrate had considered the fact that all but one of the defendants were first offenders and that factor may well have persuaded him to give them an option to pay the fines," the Chief Justice said.

The Chief Justice also highlighted that the magistrate was also entitled to take into account the fact that the defendants had contested the charges in the trial, which would have lasted some days. The magistrate was also entitled to take into account that they had pleaded guilty, thus saving the court's time.

"The most significant and potent mitigation, besides the pleas of guilty, of course was the admitted assistance to the police, which unfortunately was not brought to the attention of the lower court due probably to ignorance of the procedure to be adopted in such cases," added the Chief Justice.

He said he also considered the sentences imposed by the lower court where he had no hesitation in saying that the magistrate had been lenient in giving the respondents an option, staying out of prison by paying the respective fines.

"However, looking at the sentences that the magistrate passed in the light of the disclosure made regarding the information and assistance to the police, which was successful in bringing at least one person to justice, the respondents had earned such discount in sentence as fully reflected the recognition and worth of their assistance," the Chief Justice noted.

"Hence I think that it is better to err on the side of leniency than to close the access that the police presently have to the informer for obtaining evidence, which it might be difficult for them to obtain otherwise in their effort against crime," the Chief Justice said before he dismissed the appeal.

The magistrate imposed a total fine of $3,000 or 3 months in default to Sufri Hj Sahari, 26, after he pleaded guilty to three charges.

Sofian Hj Momin was fined totalling $6,000 or 12 months' imprisonment in default for pleading guilty to twelve charges.

A 32-year-old Chinese man, Ong Bon Leong, was fined $5,500 or 5 months and 2 weeks' jail in default and sentenced to four months' consecutive imprisonment for pleading guilty to nine counts of the charges.

Saiful Rizal Hj Sahari, 23, was sentenced to 12 months 24 weeks in prison after he pleaded guilty to six counts of theft and another 12 months 24 weeks in jail for failing to pay the $9,000 fine, which he pleaded guilty to another six theft charges.

The magistrate then sentenced Mohd Cici Masherman, 20, to fines totalling to $10,000 or 10 months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to ten theft charges.

The magistrate used his discretion to bound the 17-year-old teenager to 12 months of good behaviour with one condition for his father, acting as surety for his son, to ensure that the boy gets enrolled into any education institution within the period of the bond. The boy pleaded guilty to nine charges of theft.

Mohd Nordi Hj Kamaluddin, 25, was fined $1,000 or a month in jail after he pleaded guilty to committing theft of one car with his five other accomplices. He paid the fine.

The last defendant, Rosli Sabtu, was sentenced to one month in jail for committing theft of a car with a fine of $500 or 2 weeks in default for the attempted theft of cable. He failed to pay the fine and he served the default sentence consecutively.

All but Mohd Nordi failed to pay the fines and had to serve the custodial sentence. Of the eight defendants only one, Saiful Rizal, had a previous convictions under section 379 of the penal code, the other seven were first offenders.-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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