Man jailed for stealing from mosque to buy food

A jobless man, who stole $32 from a mosque to feed himself and his mother, was jailed for a year on Thursday by a district court.

Noraizam Abdullah, 40, pleaded guilty last month and the court then ordered prison authorities to evaluate his suitability for corrective training and preventive detention. The prosecutor said that Noraizam had been committing theft since 1997 and had served six jail terms including a five-year stint of corrective training in 2002.

Although found suitable for corrective training and preventive detention, District Judge Siva Shanmugam said that because of the small amount of money stolen and that it was used to buy food, the court would impose an ordinary jail sentence.

Court documents state that he had gone to the Darussalam mosque at Commonwealth Avenue West on Dec 11 last year. At its entrance there was a donation box, which was locked and secured to a small table with a metal chain.

Source: The Straits Times