In 2006, a technician stole earth cables fixed to Golden Landmark Shopping Centre’s ceiling and sold them to a metal scrap shop. It was out of desperation that the now-unemployed 64-year-old took action, as his wife’s chemotherapy bills were piling up. She had been diagnosed with endometrial cancer in 2003, and Resat’s then-monthly salary of $1,210 was insufficient to provide for her medical care and the school fees of their two children.
Muhammad Resat Ahmad, who had worked for Golden Landmark for 23 years until he was arrested in 2016, pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Mar 7) to two counts of dishonest misappropriation of property. Three more charges of a similar nature will be considered when he is sentenced on April 7 — after both sides come to a conclusion over the function and costs of the wires.
Having access to the electrical service and riser rooms in the mall, Resat and a colleague cut the cable wires in the ceiling with a saw and opened the insulation covering to take out the copper wires. That was done between the months of February and April 2004, as well as July and September 2006. The proceeds, which came up to about $6,000, were divided between both men.
It was only last year in May that an engineer hired by the building’s landlord, Far East Organisation, noticed the missing pieces and reported it to the police, reports TODAY.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Chew Xin Ying asserted that Resat had abused his employer’s trust, as the offences were premeditated and took place over a period of time. DPP Chew called for a sentence of three to four months’ jail, and said that the stolen earth cables were supposed to act as circuit-breakers to shield the building from current spikes that could be caused from lightning strikes.
Defence lawyer Ashwin Ganapathy pleaded for a sentence of less than three weeks, saying that Resat had carried out the criminal act due to ‘extenuating circumstances’, and he pleaded guilty and co-operated with the authorities during their investigations.
