Three Chinese nationals fined, one jailed for RM7,000 theft in Melaka, court hands down sentences for stealing cash
MELAKA: Three Chinese nationals were fined by the Ayer Keroh Magistrates’ Court today after they pleaded guilty to stealing RM7,000 in cash from a business premises in Jonker Street last month.
Magistrate Uthman Abd Ghani imposed fines of RM5,000 each on Qing Xiaomin, 54, Yan Chaoyang, 63, and Lu Yongde, 60, and ordered them to serve four months’ jail in default of payment.
Another accused, Dong Huangbing, 62, was sentenced to four months’ jail starting today for the same offence.
All four pleaded guilty after the charge was read out to them in Mandarin by a court interpreter.
According to the charge sheet, the four were accused of jointly stealing a wallet containing RM7,000 in cash belonging to an individual at the Coconut Shake Store in Jonker Street at 10.25 am on April 25.
The charge was framed under Section 379 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same Code, which provides for a maximum prison sentence of seven years, or a fine, or both, and, for a second or subsequent offence, imprisonment, fine, or whipping.
Counsel Mona Anak Leonard Lubon, representing all the accused, requested the court to impose a minimum fine and a short jail term, citing that her clients are senior citizens.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Syauqi Mardia Baharudin urged for a proportionate sentence, saying that although the case was a pickpocketing offence involving senior citizens, it nevertheless affected public interest and was believed to have been premeditated.
In the same proceedings, Dong and another accused, Li Gang, 62, were sentenced to four months’ jail after they pleaded guilty to a charge of overstaying in the country without reasonable cause.
The duo were charged with committing the offence along Jalan Banda Kaba in the Melaka Tengah district at 3.50 pm on April 30.
Li is accused of overstaying in the country for five months after his social visit pass expired on 19 Nov 2025, while Dong overstayed his social visit pass since 6 March 2025, for 13 months.
The charge under Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 provides for a minimum fine of RM10,000, or imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both, upon conviction.
