Bapa 5 anak dijel 6 bulan curi susu bayi

Kota Bharu High Court has sentenced a 43-year-old father, Wan Eskandar Wan Julihi, to six months in prison for stealing RM394 worth of baby formula, Milo, soft drinks, soft snacks, and tin openers from a market on October 11. The court ruled that the responsibility of family and survival does not automatically entitle a lighter sentence.

The judge quoted a Sanskrit proverb meaning that one should not commit immoral acts, even in times of hunger. Despite seeing his wife in hunger, one should not commit immoral or shameful acts that invite criticism from the educated class, the judge said, referring to the Tamil proverb from Tirukkural, a Tamil literary work written by the philosopher Tiruvalluvar.

The court considered Wan Eskandar's circumstances but emphasized the importance of setting an example to prevent the offender from repeating the mistake. His lawyer, Nik Nasrun Nazmi Nik Mohamad, from the National Guaman Assistance Foundation, stated that his client, a single father of five, was not employed and had recently been released from prison.

He had five children to support, paying RM300 rent monthly, and was also suffering from heart disease, high blood pressure, and psoriasis. The judge noted that the offender had previously admitted guilt and pleaded for a lighter sentence, but the court held that it was a first-time offender who had previously been convicted of fraud under Section 417 of the Penal Code.

The court believes that sentencing the offender to a preventive measure would teach him not to repeat his actions. The court emphasized that even stealing a single sheet of paper can be punished by imprisonment under the Penal Code, but this does not mean the offender is entitled to a sentence reduction due to the public interest of preserving time and court costs.

Previous court rulings on theft under Section 380 of the Penal Code usually range from one to three years in prison. However, in this case, considering the offender's mitigating factors and the facts of the case, the court sentenced him to only six months in prison, which is lighter than the current trend for similar offenses. The sentence also reflects the offender's act.