Mosque fund theft: High Court to revise Lower Court's decision in sentencing youth

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court will revise the decision imposed by a lower court in sentencing a teenager to 10 days' imprisonment and RM4,000 fine for attempting to steal money from a mosque donation box .

The hearing to revise the decision of the Selayang Magistrate's Court's which meted out the sentence on Daniel Iskandar, 19, is set for Jan 17 at the Shah Alam High Court.

Muslim Lawyers Association of Malaysia (PPMM) president Datuk Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar said the proceeding for revision was set in accordance with the provisions under Chapter 31 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Chapter 31, among others, deals with the power of the High Court to call for records of proceedings in the subordinate courts and the power of judicial review.

Yesterday, Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat in a press conference said the sentence decided by the subordinate courts could be reviewed by the High Court if found to be excessive or inappropriate according to existing laws.

Meanwhile, lawyer Muhammad Hariz Md Yusoff when contacted said the application for revision would be heard before Judge Datuk Indera Abd Halim Aman at 9am.

He said his client was currently in Kajang Prison and he could not not meet the teenager due to the prison's standard operating procedure (SOP) which required an RT-PCR test to be conducted first.

"I went to Kajang Prison and my communication with Daniel was through a written letter which I handed to a prison officer to be delivered to him.

"Based on the prison record, our client should be released on Monday but when there is a revised decision, he will be brought first to the Shah Alam Court," he said.

On Jan 13, the Selayang Magistrate's Court sentenced Daniel Iskandar to 10 days in jail and a fine of RM4,000 for trying to steal mosque funds on Jan 8.

The media had earlier reported that a viral video of a youth being bathed like a corpse by some mosque committee members for trying to steal from a donation box was being circulated on social media.

-- BERNAMA