BATU PAHAT: A contractor from an electrical equipment supply company was fined RM5,000, in default four months' jail, by the magistrate's court here today after he pleaded guilty to stealing building materials from construction sites last week.
Mohd Ronny Johan, 48, however, failed to pay his fine.
He pleaded guilty to the charges, which were read to him by the court interpreter, before magistrate Suhaili Shafi'uddin.
Ronny was accused of possessing stolen property, namely six sets of scaffoldings, 22 iron rods, three iron footings and a set of connecting wires belonging to a 50-year-old woman in Parit Raja.
He was charged under Section 114 of the Penal Code for dealing with possessing stolen property, which carries a maximum five years' imprisonment or a fine or both, upon conviction.
According to the facts of the case, the woman went to the construction sites in Sungai Bagan and Sungai Kluang near Rengit and found several items missing about 1pm on April 15.
The woman lodged a police report over the missing items, which led to the arrest of a man at a laundry shop in Parit Raja at 10.20pm the same day.
The arrest of the accused led to the recovery of the missing construction equipment at his home.
Deputy public prosecutor Farah Wahidah Mohd Sharip prosecuted, while Kamarul Arifin Nordin from the National Legal Aid Foundation represented Ronny.