SIBU: A 45-year-old man was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment by the Magistrates’ Court here today for a felony charge of firing fireworks towards diners sitting at the front portion of a coffee shop.
When the nature of charge was read and explained to Lee Leong Chiu from Jalan Ulu Sungei Merah through an interpreter, he understood and acknowledged the consequences of maintaining his plea of guilt.
Magistrate Romario Jonoi convicted Lee based on his plea.
The charge against Lee stated that he had “unlawfully and maliciously caused by any explosive to wit fireworks, an explosion of a nature likely to cause serious injury to person or property”, at the front portion of a coffee shop along Lanang Road on March 26 at about 10.30 pm.
Thereby, he had committed the offence of causing an explosion likely to endanger a person or property which is punishable under Section 6 of the Explosive Act 1957.
The Act reads, “he shall, whether any injury to person or property has actually caused or not, be liable, on conviction, to imprisonment up to seven years or to a fine of RM10,000, or both”.
In outlining the facts of the case, prosecuting officer Insp. Kumaeswaran Murugan told the court that on March 28 at about 4.05 pm, at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) office of Sibu Central Police Station, Insp. Andrew Umdum Isa (complainant) saw a video length of 1.08 minute uploaded on Facebook by the user, Amazing Sarawak.
The video showed fireworks being fired from a moving vehicle toward civilians seated at the coffee shop, endangering their safety.
A police report was subsequently lodged.
Acting on information received on March 31 at about 2.05 pm, a police team led by Insp. Kong Zheng Shien from CID Sibu placed a man under arrest in front of a hotel at Chengal Road.
The accused, who was unrepresented by legal counsel, pleaded for leniency during sentencing.
