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A 23-year-old convenience store employee will serve nine years in prison after pleading guilty to seven counts of criminal breach of trust involving more than RM30,000 in daily sales
Nurfatin Najwa Ahmad Bzli admitted to siphoning funds from her workplace in Taman Soga, Batu Pahat, between 21 and 27 March to repay debts owed to 10 unlicensed moneylenders, according to New Straits Times.
The court ordered the seven sentences to run consecutively — one after the other — starting from the date of her arrest on 28 March.
Before delivering the verdict, Sessions Court Judge Osman Affendi Mohd Shalleh questioned why the defendant engaged with loan sharks at such a young age
"Why did you borrow from loan sharks? You are still young to undergo this punishment, and your life journey is still far," the judge remarked, noting that while the accused had a history of supporting her parents, the seriousness of the crime had to take priority, as reported by Harian Metro.
The judge handed down one year for the first, second, fourth, and fifth charges, two years for the third, and 18 months each for the final two counts.
Investigations revealed that Nurfatin misused her position of trust to embezzle RM32,102.60 in cash belonging to the convenience store
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharifah Natasha Syed Ahmad detailed the defendant's sophisticated modus operandi, which involved entering significantly lower figures into the point-of-sale system than the actual daily earnings.
The accused also manipulated and edited daily sales documents to obscure the missing funds from the company's management, a calculated move that the prosecution argued demonstrated a clear intent to defraud.
The defendant, who was represented by lawyer Mohd Razak Shariff, informed the court that her actions were driven by desperation rather than greed
She claimed she had initially borrowed from loan sharks to cover the debts of a friend who refused to pay their shared instalments.
This decision ultimately trapped her in a cycle of high-interest repayments to 10 separate Ah Long syndicates.
Section 408 of the Penal Code carries a maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment, whipping, and a fine for any clerk or servant who commits criminal breach of trust
By pleading guilty, Nurfatin avoided the maximum penalty, though the consecutive sentences ensure a lengthy incarceration and serve as a deterrent to others.
