Public Prosecutor v Hidayat Bin Sabirin

• Court: District Court (Singapore)
• Judge: Victor Yeo Khee Eng
• Judgment Date: 31 January 2001
• Neutral Citation: [2001] SGDC 34
• Citation: [2001] SGDC 34
• Published date: 19 September 2003

JUDGMENT:

Grounds of Decision

This is an appeal against sentence by the prosecution. The accused, Hidayat Bin Sabirin, 42 years old, pleaded guilty to one charge of theft in a dwelling-house, an offence under section 380 of the Penal Code (Chapter 224) in that he:

"on 3^rd June 2000 at about 2.00 pm, at Blk 32 Chai Chee Avenue, #04-214, Singapore, which is a building used for custody of property, did commit theft of one 18K gold stone pendant valued at $60/-, one 14K gold stone pendant valued at $20/-, and two gold ear-studs valued at $15/-, amounting to a total value of $95/-, in the possession of Mdm Rokiah Binte Salleh." (Exhibit P1.)

2. The punishment prescribed for the offence was imprisonment of up to 7 years, and the accused was also liable to a fine. I sentenced the accused to two weeks imprisonment for the charge.

Statement of Facts

3. The accused admitted to the Statement of Facts (Exhibit A) without qualifications and accordingly, I convicted him on the charge. The facts revealed that on 3^rd June 2000 at about 2.00 pm, when the accused was alone at his mother-in-law, Mdm Rokiah Binte Sallehs flat at Blk 32 Chai Chee Avenue, #04-214, Singapore, he decided to steal the latters jewellery as he was in financial difficulties.

4. The accused then went into the victims room and took a gold-stone pendant valued at $60/-, a gold-stone ring valued at $20/- and two ear-studs valued at $15/- from her cupboard. The total value of the three items, which the accused subsequently pawned to Lian Foong and Lian He pawnshops, amounted to $95/-.

5. On 10^th December 2000, the accuseds wife, Mdm Hajjah Binte Mohd Ariff lodged a police report against the accused stating that he had pawn the victims jewellery without the latters consent.

6. The said items were recovered from the Lian Foong and Lian He pawnshops.

Mitigation and Antecedents

7. In his mitigation, the accused pleaded for leniency. The accused worked as a wharf supervisor with PSA. He also admitted to his drug-related antecedents (Exhibit B). In this regard, the accused was admitted to DRC on seven occasions between 1978 and 1996, and on 18^th December 1998, he was convicted and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for possession of a controlled drug under section 8(a) of the Misuse of Drugs Act (Chapter 185).

Sentencing Consideration

8. In sentencing the accused, I took into consideration the accuseds plea of guilt as an indication of his remorse. The offence was committed on 3^rd June...