Labourer jailed 12 months for stealing medicines

 A 30-year-old man is sentenced after admitting to four separate thefts involving Panadol and other medicines at convenience stores in Melaka.

The magistrates’ court in Ayer Keroh ordered the accused to serve the three-month sentences for all four charges consecutively. (File pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 A labourer was jailed for 12 months by the Ayer Keroh magistrates’ court after pleading guilty to four charges of stealing Panadol and other medicines from convenience stores in Melaka.

Magistrate Nur Afiqah Radhiah Zainurin sentenced Ridwan Abd Rahman, 30, to three months’ jail for each charge and ordered the sentences to run consecutively, Berita Harian reported.

Ridwan was charged with stealing four boxes of Panadol ActiFast 20s, seven boards of Panadol ActiFast Compact and three boxes of Panadol New Blister from a convenience store in Taman Nirwana, Klebang, at about 4.22pm on Oct 27.

For the second charge, he was accused of stealing various types of medicines worth RM248.30 from a convenience store in Jalan Rambai Jaya at about 5.35pm on Nov 20, 2025.

He was also charged with stealing Panadol worth RM282.80 in Sungai Udang on Nov 28, 2025, before committing the same offence again by taking Panadol valued at RM322.10 in Taman Rambai Jaya on Jan 29.

Three charges were framed under Section 380 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to 10 years and may include a fine, while one charge was under Section 379, which provides for a maximum sentence of seven years’ jail or a fine, or both.

Deputy public prosecutor Shauki Mardia Baharudin urged the court to impose a heavier sentence, saying the offences involved repeated thefts at different locations and times.

“This shows the accused is a habitual offender. Panadol was stolen in large quantities,” he said.

Defence lawyer Umar Zulkarnain appealed for leniency, saying his client regretted the offences and was supporting his mother, who has heart disease, as well as his elderly father. - FMT