Kota Kinabalu: A 27-year-old man was fined RM2,500 or jailed six months by the Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday for threatening a female housemate who discovered a hidden camera in a bathroom.
Ferguson S Inansul, a welder, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Marilyn Kelvin to threatening a 27-year-old woman by uttering the words “jaga kau, awas” (“watch yourself”) to her at 10.02pm on May 2, this year at a rented house, Taman Permai Stage 2, Manggatal.
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The offence under Section 506 of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to two years, or a fine, or both, on conviction.
The court heard from the prosecution that at 10.02pm on the day of the incident, the complainant discovered a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera had been installed inside the bathroom of the rented house.
Further checks led her to suspect that the device had been placed by a male tenant occupying a room next to hers without her knowledge or consent.
Alarmed and distressed by the intrusion into her privacy, the complainant confronted the situation.
However, she was warned by Ferguson not to lodge a police report, during which he uttered threatening words that caused her to fear for her safety.
Fearing that something untoward might happen, she later lodged a police report.
Acting on information, police arrested Ferguson when he turned up at the Kota Kinabalu Police Headquarters on May 3, at 11.20pm.
Police also seized a camera and a USB device resembling a black lighter, used as a recording device, for further investigation.
In another case, a 42-year-old man was fined RM25 or jailed three days for issuing threats to disturb the peace.
Yonstewart Solly admitted to threatening one Wiliam Liew at 5.30pm on April 30, this year, at a house in Kampung Tombovo, Putatan.
The offence under Section 8(1)(e) of the Minor Offences Ordinance carries a fine of up to RM25 or a jail term of up to one week, on conviction.
The prosecution informed the court that the complainant had advertised his vehicle for sale on Facebook Marketplace two weeks earlier.
Yonstewart later approached him claiming to have purchased the vehicle through an online payment made to an unknown third party.
When the complainant refused to hand over the vehicle as he had not received any payment, Yonstewart became upset, accused him of cheating and threatened to burn his car and house.
Fearing for his safety and that of his family, the complainant lodged a police report.
Yonstewart was arrested by police on May 1 at the Criminal Investigation Department office in Keningau.
Inspector Yusdi Basri prosecuted.
