Azlan Othman

A local man was recently convicted by the Syariah High Court of Bandar Seri Begawan, in the first Syariah case involving theft, said the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) yesterday.

Muhammad Amiruddin bin Azlan, 18, was found guilty of Sariqah (theft) and offences committed under Section 55 (3) (b) of the Syariah Penal Code Order, 2013, which carries the sentence of Ta’zir (punishment for offences at the discretion of the judge).

According to the facts of the case read in court, the offence took place on August 3, at a restaurant in Kuala Belait, where the offender had been asked to look after a wallet and a mobile phone belonging to a friend who was using the restroom.

The theft was discovered later in the day, when the friend realised that BND100 was missing from his wallet.

A subsequent check of the restaurant’s CCTV footage revealed the offender’s suspicious behaviour, and a police report was made on August 12, leading to the offender’s arrest. During the sentencing, the Syariah High Court judge told the offender that the act of Sariqah is a serious offence under Hukum Syara’, which with sufficient conditions, can lead to the Hadd (punishments for certain offences). The offender was sentenced to five months in prison.

The prosecution was conducted by the Syar’ie Prosecutor of the Syar’ie Prosecution Division under the Ministry of Religious Affairs.