A 43-year-old man was jailed for two years and two months after pleading guilty to entering a dwelling house and stealing several items, including two air-conditioning units and a mobile phone.
Pengiran Zunidi bin Pengiran Othman was sentenced by Intermediate Court Judge Hazarena POKSJ DP Haji Hurairah on September 26 in ICCT 23 of 2026. The sentence was backdated to September 17, the date of his arrest.
DPP Nurul Fitri Kifrawi told the court that Pengiran Zunidi had been working for a company, which was carrying out renovation works at a house at Kampong Lurong Dalam, Kampong Ayer.
On September 13, after resigning from his job and while waiting to be paid his outstanding salary, Pengiran Zunidi went to the vicinity of the house. He found the premises unoccupied and, knowing what items were kept there from his previous work, decided to steal.
He entered the dwelling house and took two TCL one-horsepower window air-conditioning units, a Dongcheng circular saw and a Realme C33 mobile phone.
He later contacted an acquaintance, who lived nearby, and offered him one of the air-conditioning units and the mobile phone for subsequent sale.
The workers returned at about 10.40am after leaving the premises at about 9.15am to obtain equipment and discovered the property missing. A police report was lodged, leading to the arrests of Pengiran Zunidi and his acquaintance.
One air-conditioning unit and the circular saw were recovered from Pengiran Zunidi, while the second air-conditioning unit was recovered after it had been sold to a buyer in Kampong Setia, Kampong Ayer. The mobile phone, originally purchased for BND200, was not recovered.
Pengiran Zunidi admitted entering the premises and stealing the items. He was unrepresented and told the court that he stole because he needed money to support his child following his resignation.
The court noted that Pengiran Zunidi had a previous conviction for theft under section 379 of the Penal Code in 2022, for which he received 16 months’ imprisonment, as well as a separate five-month sentence and two strokes for an offence under section 427. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively, totalling 21 months’ imprisonment and two strokes.
Judge Hazarena found several aggravating factors, including the deliberate invasion of a dwelling house, Pengiran Zunidi’s familiarity with the premises, his knowledge of the property stored there and his previous theft conviction.
The court adopted a starting point of three years and three months’ imprisonment, above the usual three-year starting point, because of the relevant antecedent and circumstances of the offence.
After applying the usual one-third reduction for his early guilty plea, the sentence was reduced to two years and two months’ imprisonment.
The sentence was imposed under section 451 of the Penal Code, Chapter 22, which carries up to 10 years’ imprisonment where the intended offence is theft.
The court considered the Court of Appeal decisions in Mohd Saifullah bin Hj Ahmad v Public Prosecutor and Mohd Zahiruddin bin Hj Junaidi v Public Prosecutor in determining the appropriate sentence.