Two Penang couples claim trial to possession of stolen property

BUTTERWORTH: Two couples have pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here to a charge of possessing stolen property.

Muhammad Ezwan Syafiq Joha, 27, and his wife Nurul Hidayah Mahat, 24; and Endang Nur Nabila Suriana Mahat, 22, and her husband Muhammad Affizan Abdullah, 24; claimed trial before Sessions judge Noor Aini Yusof on Wednesday (June 19).

Based on the charge sheet, all four of them did with fraudulent intent keep the property, which included a bangle weighing 27.95g; a necklace weighing 130.56g; a bracelet weighing 84.64g; and a necklace weighing 50g; belonging to one Siti Nur Khalieda Yusra Mohd Jais.

The four are accused of committing the crime at a house in Kampung Aman, Pokok Sena, Kepala Batas at 9pm on April 25.

They were charged under Section 412 of the Penal Code for dishonestly receiving stolen property, transferred by the commission of gang robbery, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.

DPP Mohammad Syafiq Nasrullah Saleem Ali prosecuted while the four were represented by Ranjit Singh Sandhu.

Mohammad Syafiq said bail would not be offered as it was a non-bailable offence.

Ranjit Singh, however, requested that the court grant bail for the four accused and appealed for a nominal sum as three of them were unwell.

He said Muhammad Ezwan only worked as a trader with an income of RM1,200 a month.

“He is married and his wife Nurul Hidayah does not work.

“They have two young children, while Nurul Hidayah has diabetes and requires insulin injections,” he said.

Ranjit Singh said Endang Nur Nabila is also a mother and is diabetic.

“She (Endang Nur Nabila) is unemployed while her husband, Muhammad Affizan, works as a part-time landscaper with an income of RM1,500 a month. He has asthma,” he said.

Judge Noor Aini then asked Ranjit Singh to submit medical reports for the three accused.

She then set bail of RM18,000 with one surety for each accused.

Additional conditions imposed were that the the four accused must report to the nearest police station on the 1st and 15th of every month, hand over their passports to the court, and should not approach or contact the victim or witnesses during the trial.

“If the accused do not have an international passport, the court will order the Immigration Department not to issue passports to them until the trial is over,” the judge added.

She set July 19 for submission of documents.

It was reported in April that a businesswoman suffered losses of around RM800,000 when her house in Kepala Batas was robbed.