KUCHING, Sept 4 — An unemployed man was sentenced to six years in prison and fined RM5,000 in default two months’ jail by the Sessions Court here yesterday for causing a fire at an apartment block last month.
Judge Iris Awen Jon meted out the sentence after Wan Mohammad Adenan Wan Umar, 44, pleaded guilty to a charge of committing mischief by fire, framed under Section 435 of the Penal Code.
The Section provides for imprisonment of up to 14 years and a fine, upon conviction.
Wan Mohammad Adenan, unrepresented, committed the offence at Residensi PR1MA Premier Matang here at around 3.30pm on Aug 27.
The act caused damage to the walls and floor of an apartment block.
The facts of the case stated that the accused, who was under financial stress, set fire to his motorcycle at the block.
Upon being alerted by a resident, a security guard rushed to the block and arrived to discover the fire had been extinguished by other residents.
Wan Mohammad Adenan attempted to flee but was stopped by the guard’s colleague.
He then brandished a meat cleaver at the guard and his colleague before being subdued and handed over to police.
The fire caused about RM1,000 in damage to the apartment block’s walls and floor.
Meanwhile, Wan Mohammad Adenan claimed trial in the Magistrates’ Court today to a charge of committing criminal intimidation during the same incident.
He was charged under Section 506 of the Penal Code with threatening to cause grievous bodily harm to the security guard and the guard’s colleague with a meat cleaver.
The Section provides for up to seven years in prison or a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Magistrate Mason Jaro Lenya Barayan granted bail of RM2,000 with one local surety and fixed case management for Oct 14, 2025.
The prosecution was conducted separately by deputy public prosecutors Mohamad Aiman Mutallib Mohamad Shariff and Asmawi Nur Haqim Mokhtar. — The Borneo Post
