MUAR: A 'bundle' store owner was sentenced to 16 months' jail after he pleaded guilty at the magistrate court here today to 27 counts of stealing and reselling 134 pairs of branded shoes.
Magistrate Suzana Mokhtar handed down the sentence against 38-year-old Mohd Firdaus Mohd Sharif after he pleaded guilty to all the charges made against him under Section 411 of the Penal Code for possession of stolen goods.
Mohd Firdaus was charged with possessing stolen shoes worth RM20,000 in a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) and his rented room, between 4.30am on Oct 3 and 10.40am on Oct 4.
He pleaded for leniency, citing family commitments and that he is the sole breadwinner.
"I deeply regret my actions. I appealed to the court for a lighter sentence. I have many responsibilities, including supporting my wife and children," he told the court.
Suzana, however, handed down the sentence following the prosecution's argument that the crime involved numerous victims and that Mohd Firdaus had a prior record for a similar offence.
According to the facts of the case, police were alerted by several victims who reported missing their branded shoes.
Surveillance footage from a closed-circuit television (CCTV) showed a man scaling the victims' fences and stealing the shoes.
Acting on this information, police from the Muar Criminal Investigation Division arrested Mohd Firdaus along Jalan Persiaran Bahagia at 4.30am on Oct 3.
The accused later led police to an MPV parked nearby, where they found numerous pairs of branded shoes.
Out of the 134 pairs recovered, 36 were identified by the victims, while the remaining pairs are still pending identification.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Aqilah Mohd Rofaie said the crime affected multiple victims and urged the court to take the seriousness of the offence into account.