7 hours ago
Two tourists get jail for stealing luxury handbag to fund Malaysia trip
KUALA LUMPUR: Two Algerian men were recently each sentenced to eight months in jail by the magistrate's court after stealing a luxury handbag worth RM10,670 in a bid to sell it and finance their holiday in Malaysia.
The court heard that tourists Mohamed Moali, 35, and Mohamed Lamine Doudou, 32, had stolen the black mini jewelled satchel at 11.08am from an outlet in a renowned shopping complex on March 23.
Magistrate Farah Nabihah Muhamad Dan imposed the jail term after the duo pleaded guilty to the joint charge read out to them in Arabic.
The charge, under Section 380 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same Act, carries a maximum 10-year jail term and is liable to a fine upon conviction.
The facts of the case stated that a sales assistant discovered the handbag missing from the shelf at 3pm on the same day and lodged a police report.
A review of the closed-circuit television camera footage revealed one of the men removing the bag from the shelf, placing it into a paper bag, and leaving the premises.
During investigations, the men confessed to the crime.
Deputy public prosecutor Amritpreet Kaur Randhawa urged the court to mete out a proportionate sentence.
"The court must consider the losses incurred in this case.
"The sentence should serve as a lesson to the accused to prevent a recurrence," she said.
In mitigation, National Legal Aid Foundation lawyer Charanpal Singh asked for leniency, as the accused were their families' sole breadwinners.
He said Moali and Lamine worked as a designer and contractor, respectively.
"Their guilty plea has saved the court's time.
"They promised not to repeat the offence and requested a short jail term as they wish to return to their home country," he said.
Charanpal also asked the court to take into account that both accused had already been jailed for three months for a similar offence in another magistrate's court.
