Zaid slams 'ridiculous' 3-month jail term for mum who stole food
Published: Apr 23, 2025 4:37 PM
Updated: 6:37 PM
Summary
- Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim is furious with the three-month jail sentence imposed on a mother who stole groceries and questions the training of magistrates.
- He also calls for a revamp of sentencing principles.
Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim has criticised the three-month prison sentence handed to a mother who was caught stealing food for her children.
Calling this another “ridiculous punishment”, he asked: “How do we train our magistrates?”
“Can we have a revamp of how sentencing principles are applied to match the harsh reality of ordinary poor lives?” he added in a social media post.
Zaid also contrasted this incident with a video claiming that the richest Malay family is worth RM370 billion.
Roping in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, he queried: “What will PMX (Anwar), (Women, Family and Community Development Minister) Nancy Shukri and the judiciary do now?”
Yesterday, it was reported that the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court sentenced Lini Ahmat, 38, to three months in jail after she pleaded guilty to stealing from a supermarket last Saturday.
Magistrate Aina Azahra Arifin ordered her to serve the prison sentence from the date of arrest on April 19.
She was charged with stealing 30 types of items, which included personal care products, bread, eggs, biscuits, soy milk, tissues and toothpaste, worth RM374.69 from a supermarket in Brickfields last April 19.
The charge, framed under Section 380 of the Penal Code, provides a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a fine.
During mitigation, lawyer Qurratu 'Aini Zafirah Mat Shoib, representing the accused, said her client, who has a six-month-old child and is supporting a 76-year-old ailing father, committed the offence due to financial pressure.
“My client is unemployed, while her husband has just found a job after the family moved from Sarawak to here (Kuala Lumpur). She is in a desperate situation and has no money to buy necessities,” she said.
Calling this another “ridiculous punishment”, he asked: “How do we train our magistrates?”
“Can we have a revamp of how sentencing principles are applied to match the harsh reality of ordinary poor lives?” he added in a social media post.
Zaid also contrasted this incident with a video claiming that the richest Malay family is worth RM370 billion.
Roping in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, he queried: “What will PMX (Anwar), (Women, Family and Community Development Minister) Nancy Shukri and the judiciary do now?”
Yesterday, it was reported that the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court sentenced Lini Ahmat, 38, to three months in jail after she pleaded guilty to stealing from a supermarket last Saturday.
Magistrate Aina Azahra Arifin ordered her to serve the prison sentence from the date of arrest on April 19.
She was charged with stealing 30 types of items, which included personal care products, bread, eggs, biscuits, soy milk, tissues and toothpaste, worth RM374.69 from a supermarket in Brickfields last April 19.
The charge, framed under Section 380 of the Penal Code, provides a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a fine.
During mitigation, lawyer Qurratu 'Aini Zafirah Mat Shoib, representing the accused, said her client, who has a six-month-old child and is supporting a 76-year-old ailing father, committed the offence due to financial pressure.
“My client is unemployed, while her husband has just found a job after the family moved from Sarawak to here (Kuala Lumpur). She is in a desperate situation and has no money to buy necessities,” she said.
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