Court fines two Chinese businessmen for stealing money from airline passengers

BALIK PULAU: A pair of Chinese nationals were fined after pleading guilty at the Magistrates’ Court here Wednesday (Dec 4) to charges of stealing money from two airline passengers at Penang International Airport last month.

Magistrate Chia Huey Ting ruled that He Da Peng, 51, be fined RM2,000 and Xin Min, 61, RM3,700, with additional three-month jail if they fail to pay the fines. The charges were read separately in Mandarin.

He was charged with stealing RM2,000 in cash from an airline passenger between 8:20am and 8:40am on Nov 21, while Xin Min was accused of stealing NT$24,000 and RM200 from another passenger between 10:20am and 10:30am on Nov 24.

Both individuals, who are businessmen, were charged under Section 379 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both, upon conviction.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Public Prosecutor R. Lushini, while the two accused were represented by lawyer Md Yusuf Md Idris.

Earlier, Md Yusuf appealed for leniency, requesting the court to impose a fine instead of a harsher sentence, as this was the first offence for both his clients. He also noted their cooperation in returning the stolen items.

Lushini, however, urged the court to impose a proportionate punishment as a deterrent to ensure the accused do not repeat the offence. – Bernama