I suppose the story of a chcken thief who couldn’t recognise a chicken in court as the one he was alleged to have stolen was meant to provide some comic relief in the The Star. You are meant to chuckle or laugh when you read it.
But read the report more carefully and you will see that the accused had to support his family on RM25 a day. That’s about RM750/month, putting the household on the threshold of the official poverty line. Nothing to laugh about there. And he gets three months jail for stealing a chicken.
Now we shouldn’t condone even petty theft.
But we all know how difficult it is for any household to survive on less than RM1,500/month or even more, let alone RM750.
How about poverty in a land of plenty? Do we condone that?
My question now: what is the penalty for those who are now allowing TNB to bleed RM500 million in “capacity charges” over the next eight months by allowing an IPP to operate a power plant (Jimah) to provide electricity that the country doesn’t need? The Jimah plant, which will be operational in January, will raise the country’s power reserve margin to 45 per cent. The CEO of TNB says the country doesn’t need the power and can do without it. Who will profit from the Jimah power plant?
Will anyone be hauled up to account for this?
The Star
Friday December 12, 2008
Chicken thief couldn’t recognise birdIPOH: A man who admitted to stealing a chicken got amused looks in a magistrate’s court here when he could not recognise the same bird brought to him for identification.
Contract worker R. Maran, 29, was asked to identify the bird after pleading guilty to stealing the 1.5kg cockerel from a coop in Hala Perindustrian Menglembu 13, here, on Oct 10.
However, when owner carried the chicken into the magistrate’s court yesterday, Maran unexpectedly denied that the black bird with brown chest feathers was the one he had stolen.
“What? You think it has been switched?” asked prosecuting officer Asst Supt Jamaluddin Osman to chuckles from the public gallery.
At one point, ASP Jamaluddin even brought out a photograph of the stolen chicken to compare it with the live bird for Maran’s benefit.
The prosecuting officer and magistrate Sharmila Abdul Samad finally pointed out to the accused that the chicken would have grown bigger since the theft two months ago.
Maran then acknowledged that it was the same bird, and pleaded to the court for a lighter sentence as he had to support his wife and two young children. He also said his family was poor and that he only earned RM25 a day.
The magistrate sentenced him to three months’ jail from Oct 10, the date he was caught red-handed with the chicken at the coop.
Related posts:
Wtf?!! (sorry, this was just too much)..
what kind of mockery of a court room is that? They seem like they are purposely making fun of the poor fella.. Like you said, can’t condone theft but a more understanding sentence or circumstances etc.. he prob stole cos of how much he’s struggling to feed his family. I feel saddened to say that I thought (after reading it) they were harsher on him…
where is MIC then? the allegedly ONLY “helper” of Indian rights.. what do they care?
Malaysians who struggle like this should be helped or trained to help themselves.. I find it disgusting.. I dunno, reading the news (from whatever source) just.. sickens me.. sigh..
Other than that, Merry Christmas!!!!
Three months. And we have rotting carcasses in our hypermarkets.
Well curi ayam pun kena. Lol in Malaysia, poor little fella. Who is the owner of the chicken, so kedekut ma, could have just donated to the poor guy and tell him next time don’t do it.
No big deal unless you want to make it big.
The poor in Malaysia suffer most. Now with the rising cost of living, to break even, it is not RM1500. For a family of four, to break even, the figure is RM4000 to RM5000. One must include not just food but medical and educational cost. Each jab vaccination alone is a few hundred ringgit. Kindergarten fees alone is RM500 a month per kid.
So Anil, Rm1500 is an understatement. This poor fellow’s RM750 is hardly anough to survive.
Why? Because of corruption and mismanagement of the economy, our pay packet does not commensurate with the cost of living in Malaysia. Simple as that. Go to Singapore and you see a normal level government servant earning S$4000. Mind you, that is Singapore dollar!
In Malaysia, as stated above, besides food, medical and educational charges eats a huge chunk of an individual’s salary. We are not even factoring the fuel and car loan yet. What makes matter worse is the number of kids involved. Like I said Kindergarten alone is RM500 per kid.
Now who suffers the most? Well, the Indians and Chinese do suffer but the ones who suffer the most are the poor Malays. Why is this so? This is because they were encouraged to have 5 to 10 kids 15 years ago. Now they cannot cope. Having one or two kids is so difficult but having to support 5 to 10 kids, is an immensely difficult task.
So, the poor Malays have got a double whammy. Due to the steep rise in inflation and the low remuneration of our pay packet, Chinese and Indian families find it hard to feed and support even 2 kids, but the poor Malays have to crack their heads to feed their 5 to 10 kids.
It is a double whammy.
Then on the other end of the stick, you see people in the old boys crony network, driving cars like the RM2 million dollar Lamborghini Gallardo, RM3 million Bentley Continental GT, RM4 million Ferrari 599 GTB besides buying RM25 million dollar houses in Kenny Hills.
But the chicken thief gets 3 months jail.
Anil,
Your first story reveals the irony of judicial justice.
Your second; from the right pocket to the left pocket; then to the correct pockets.
PM and DPM paid (thousands per month) … just to stay in their palace…this poor guy looking for a good meal for his family….’
3 months for stealing a chicken.
a tan sri conferment for stealing RM500 million?
BN style mah.
I wonder if usage under RM20 for this fellow’s electricity. Then, he should be getting FREE electricity…so generous of the government.
Who is the beneficiary of Jimah power plant? Get the answer and it explains itself why TNB is paying RM500 mil per yr for capacity.
I am wondering why this country only talk about such things – like the lop-sided agreement with toll operators, this IPP thingy and what have you – but nothing is done to correct the situation. Where are the MPs and what are they doing about this?
RM500 compensation paid by TNB for excess capacity is just one side of the coin. In another side, Petronas has to sell natural gas at a very subsidized price to IPPs which itself is easily more than RM500.
In a nutshell, Malaysians have to pay several billions each year to IPPs for buying excess electricity capacity which is never been used by any consumers.
Our money is just wasted as eletrons draining down to earth for nothing.
This is a LEGAL way of stealing our rakyat money.
It shall be read as RM500 million, not the peanut RM500.
han2
the same guy who was given a port, an airport, multiple IPP licences and he was glorified for his simple ways such as eating in a mamak shop.
who is paying the IPP charges? its you and me,isnt it?
This is called Malaysian ‘boleh’ justice… steal indecent amounts lke the corrupt politicians and (you could) get feted and honoured with state awards.
Disgusting. Ini macam pun boleh.
The irony of it all, like in medeival england where the peasents were tortured, jailed, beheaded or even hanged for this same offense, now flash forward to present day Malaysia things have not changed, a poor man steals to feed his family, he having served 2 months gets sentenced another month. I wonder how many UMNO THIEFS WHO STEAL MILLIONS HAVE SPENT A DAY IN JAIL, HOW MANY, ANYBODY?
What a decadent soceity, where there 2 sets of laws in malaysia, first that applies to all except the umnoerians and another where there is no law that can touch them. if I remember correctly the last time someone from Umno was an outcast from umno- DS ANWAR IBRAHIM, but that was a special case. but other than that was during the time of ???? hussein oon? I am talking about big timers, oh yah , mahathir put that negeri adun/minister in jail for murder. since than I mean who from UMNO HAS GONE TO JAIL FOR CORRUPTION?
So the bleeding heart Anil is at it again.
This time, stealing a chicken is NOT WRONG, so long as that guy who do the stealing is poor.
Yep, that’s the tone of Anil’s article.
It’s true that TNB and whoever is/are behind that new Jimah power plant ought to get their a*** kicked, but hey, that chicken stealer is still a thief.
Anil, you are a Catholic. Me too.
As far as I know about MY Catholicism and all the related teachings, a thief is a thief. No if, no but, nothing. A thief by any other name is still a thief.
How about YOUR Catholicism?
Does it say that a poor thief is not a thief, only a rich thief deserves to be a thief?
How about that — those Nazi soldiers who slaughtered the Jews back in World War Two are not guilty, since, hey, they do it UNDER DISTRESS, right??
Humorous? Too bad, Anil. I simply failed to see it.
I specifically mentioned that even petty theft cannot be condoned – though there may be mitigating circumstances that a just legal system would recognise. My point was that there are bigger crooks and injustices getting away with a lot more. – Anil
Why look for MIC everytime an Indian gets into trouble. Where is the government, where is the ruling party, where is compassion for someone who stole a chicken to feed the family. There was no loss to any one. Perhaps there was no one to bail the poor Indian out. The PO would have asked for an exorbitant sum and hence the Indian would have been remanded pending the police to complete their investigation into a complex case of theft of chicken where the thief was caught red handed and the loot recovered.Perhaps the court was too busy disposing other deserving cases.
What a shame….
Mitigating circumstances are often used as flimsy excuses.
I’ve been dirt poor before, Anil. I know the feeling of hunger. I understand the pain in the stomach when one has nothing to eat for 4 days.
I was there, Anil.
As “Mitigating circumstances” go, I could avail myself to steal, cheat, rob, or whatever. I mean, after all, I’m hungry, and to hell with the world, I need to fill my tummy !
Well … did I steal, rob, cheat, or do whatever just to get my tummy filled?
No doubt about it, the temptations were there. As you and I know, temptation is the hardest thing to get rid of, else we won’t be reading the story of our Lord Jesus’s 40 days in the desert, being tempted by the devil.
To cut the story short, no, I didn’t do such thing.
Yes, I could die. But I still prefer to die than to do something that I would have regretted the rest of my life.
No, Anil, this ain’t a “higher than thou” preaching session. What I am telling you is, “Mitigation circumstances” is NOTHING, and should NOT be used as an excuse to commit a crime.
We Malaysians gotta learn to be responsible for one’s own doings.
Stealing is still stealing. What Robbin Hood did, however good his intentions were, was stealing nevertheless. So is that guy who stole the chicken.
I know I’m the odd man out in this thread — amongst the touchy feely folks here, I look as if I’m cold blooded. But I still gotta stake my point — Mitigating Circumstances should NEVER be taken as an excuse to commit a crime, period.
Yes, a thief is a thief nevertheless but the sentence must relate to the severity of the crime. 3 (months) for stealng a chicken is an overkill, just as 2 years for stealing a toothbrush which I have heard of a case years ago. On the other extreme, CBT of millions would only be sentenced to maybe 3 to 5 years? Where is the justice and where is the compassion? So sad…
Maybe a sainthood is in order for Penang.
Penang, you are the kind of sanctimonious person Jesus was speaking out against. It’s people like you who cannot understand His time in this world.
Don’t preach here lah if you are so immature that you cannot understand the term “mitigating circumstances”.
Even the law recognises it. You preach so much, but did not Jesus forgive the prostitute? And those who nailed him on the cross?
Sentence must relate to the severity of the crime, as stated by Whatif.
If your 5 year old child stole something in the supermarket, do you want him to be thrown into Henry Gurney until he is 18 years old or would you appeal for forgiveness from the prosecuting authority?
Now you see what a big hippocrate you are.
What if you are an Indonesian maid, everyday being beaten and poured hot water upon, pissed upon by your employer, suddenly one day, you snap, and you hit your owner. No mitigating circumstances?
See how stupid your comments sounded?
Nobody is trying to say stealing is not a crime.
Mitigating circumstances relate to the handing down of PUNISHMENT. A judge may decide on a lighter sentence if the circumstances of the crime merits it – say severe economic hardship.
This is AFTER the court has found him guilty. The court arrives at a verdict after perusing all the presented EVIDENCE, NOT the mitigating circumstances!
Maybe someone should also try reading a law book, sometimes…..
Anil
I don’t condone theft or crimes of any sort but I am sympathetic to the poor guy’s plight and even more so for his family, now that he will be incarcerated. The social environment is what has created his predicament and unlike the country I now reside, there is no social safety net; no “dole” money so to say in your country. What is a poor fellow to do when your young ones cry in hunger pains? Those who have not undergone such experience cannot be judgemental. A parent’s love will far out weight one’s own hunger pangs as experienced by “Penang” above. Where is one’s compassion, where is one’s humanity?
While I do not want to be seen to want to reward his crime, I am mindful of his family’s welfare. They are the real victims of his punishment I would like to suggest that you find out who he is, establish a fund to help his family. I will be the first to contribute RM500 to it.
We have come to the festive seasons and all religions have taught us to be compassionate. In my small way, I want to share the many blessings that I have been endowed. Perhaps this fund can help him and his family fare better even for a little while. Can I also hope that it will also open the floodgate of love and compassion for our poorer bredthrens?
The question, I ask is “Can you forgo one teh tarek to make his life less miserable”? I know many will say that there are many more like him but Confucious say “The longest journey starts with the first step”. It is such a pity that a country that is so rich in resources and culture that this abject poverty still exist. It is such an indictment on the government. I take comfort in learning that one of the PR State governements’ aim is to eradicate poverty. This is the step in the right direction.
I will be in Malaysia shortly so will make good my pledge.
Have I ever commented on the length of the prison sentence?
Can’t you people read anymore???
All I am saying is that if anyone commit a crime, be it murder or rape or theft, that person should be totally responsible for the crime he or she has done.
No excuse, no “Mitigating Circumstances”, nothing, should be in the way between the punishment and the crime.
And to those who are calling names and such, oh well, you and I will one day be dead. And only at that time you will regret your name calling habit.
Have a nice week ahead.
And oh, btw, for those who didn’t read the Bible and still want to quote Jesus, please do yourself a big favor, go read and _UNDERSTAND_ the Bible before you talk about Jesus.
Thank you !
Penang
Technically, you are absolutely correct and nobody should challenge your logic and argument. However, we do not have ice water running in our veins and we are after all human beings with all our human failings. I for my part choose to show my compassion and not pass judgement on my fellow human beings less I be judged by someone higher in authority. I guess that we are lucky you are not a judge in a legal court or you will be appropriately named “Judge Roy Bean, The Hanging Judge”. Thank God for little mercies.
I think the point that most readers want to make is that the severity of the sentence and the situation of this “criminal” (let’s not mince words then) being the bread winner earning RM750 a month and struggling to feed his family.
You are right; we will all be dead one day but I want to stand before my maker having shown some compassion in my life than to be just “absolutely correct”.
My first message for this thread was in response to Anil’s “Oh this poor guy only stole a chicken” article. I didn’t comment on the sentencing part, my only point is that anyone who commit a crime, be it tiny or huge, must be prepared for spending the time in jail.
And all of a sudden all you “compassionate” people jumped.
Compassion is one thing, the ABUSE of that “compassion” is another.
This country of ours is in such a disarray precisely because it is not run BY LAW. It’s by man — as long as the “Orang Atas” say this guy ain’t going jail, that guy is freed….
All I want is our country to return to THE RULE OF LAW — that is, no matter who you are, if you commit a crime, it’s jail time or a rope around your neck.
It’s that simple.
Sure, you may want to show your maker that you are compassionate, but do you think your maker would approve of your abuse of that compassionate feeling of yours?
Ever think of why God giveth us a BRAIN? Do you think God giveth us a brain so we DO NOT THINK?
Stop relying on your emotion and start using your brain, buddy. Start looking at things exactly what they are — a crime is a crime, committed by a poor man is a crime, committed by a rich guy is also a crime.
Only by that way our country may get a second chance. That no more abuse from higher up.
If the RULE OF LAW becomes a reality, do you think those behind the new Jimah power plant and those running TNB can get away scot free by fleecing the public billions of dollars?
When it comes the day I die, when I stand in front of my maker, I will tell Him exactly this — “You giveth me a brain, and I didn’t waste it.”
In this world there are many pariahs. Today, I see a fanatic pariah.
Well. from my understanding of the Bible, Jesus was the original rebel with a cause. He challenged the Pharisees and and their holier than thou pretensions. He associated with prostitutes and tax collectors. He called quite a few people hypocrites.
He was basically trying to put things in context and this is what a good Christian is supposed to emulate. We can’t do the 40 day hunger strike. He’s God and we’re not.
Jesus, my kinda guy.
POVERTY AND HUNGER
13th Dec. 2008
Oliver Richards reports as follows:
The number of undernourished people in the world has increased from 923 million in 2007 to 963 million in 2008. This disturbing figure comes from a report on world hunger released on December 9 by the Rome-based UN Agency, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), entitled The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2008.
The report notes that the number of chronically hungry people rose by 75 million in 2007, while the 2008 figure shows an increase of 40 million. The recent increase in the number of hungry people has been exacerbated by high food prices, especially in developing countries.
In a news release on the FAO web site, FAO Assistant Director-General Hafez Ghanem underscored the difficulties being faced by people in the developing world:
“For millions of people in developing countries, eating the minimum amount of food every day to live an active and healthy life is a distant dream. The structural problems of hunger, like the lack of access to land, credit and employment, combined with high food prices remain a dire reality.”
For further details goto:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/dec2008/hung-d13.shtml
How to find out who the wife is? If all of us here can chip in just rm10 and four other outraged friends to do the same, at least the family will have around RM1.5k to tide them over a bit.
I know we can’t solve everyone’s problems but it seems like in this case, we can do one thing. Because I think there are many outraged people who wouldn’t mind parting with RM10, also as a sign of solidarity at the injustice.
Yeah, I wonder who’s the chicken owner who had to bring this man to court. Couldn’t he have worked out a more compassionate way of retribution? Wonder what religion he professes.
Can we do this one thing? This season of goodwill and giving?
BTW, that was another report of bad taste on Star’s part.
Sometimes, I really worry at the values Star is promoting through their warped editorial values (mostly middle to upper class angles that show little compassion or empathy for the downtrodden) as reflected in ‘amusing’ stories like that.
On the bright side, they have a few great columnists. Here’s one that has a similar theme underlying it – Familiarity breeds compassion http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/12/14/lifefocus/2766860&sec=lifefocus
Thank you to Dr. Hamid Ibrahim and Siew Eng for your meaningful contributions. It was actually I who pointed out chicken thief story to Anil and asked if he could highlight it in his blog. (Sorry for all the stick you got, Anil!)
With one exception, I can safely say thank God there are some caring people left in this world.
3 months. 3 whole months. If the rule of law is applied, those scumbags who steal millions should get a thousand lifetimes.
As Siew Eng suggested, RM10 from each of us sounds good. The thing about charity is it’s quite faceless most of the time. Anyone know how to get the ball rolling?
I don’t mind even giving RM20. Please Anil, do start a fund. Be the first blogger to start a fund to help a good soul in need.
I am confident we can collect at least Rm1000
Ganesh seth the following:
“In this world there are many pariahs. Today, I see a fanatic pariah.”
Gee, Ganesh, have you ever stood in front of a mirror?
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines a fanatic as a person filled with excessive zeal, especially for an extreme religious or political cause.
Andrew, The Concise Oxford English Dictionary does define it perfectly. Surprising that some fanatics are not compassionate despite preaching a lot.
Come on TNB…. You (TNB) own 20% of Jimah shares. How come you (TNB) complaining and wanted to charge it on the consumer. Lets say RM 1 billion gone to JIMAH. TNB will get back their 20% in which by simple stupid calculation to be RM200 Million. Playing games and always blames IPP for their own laziness.
Andrew, can you pls give your bank account number here so that we all can start banking in our pledges?
Of if you are reluctant, we can always mail you a cheque.
Once you collect from all of us, you can give to the person’s family.
There is an element of urgency here, so Anil, pls start the ball rolling by putting another post with regards to the chicken thief.
Dear Ganesh, Nice thought there. All we know is that he is R Maran charged in a magistrate’s court in Ipoh. He was sentenced to three months jail from 10 Oct, which means he should have been out by 10 Dec, if he is given one third remission for good behaviour. cheers Anil
Oh well !!!!
A new way to get rich.
Go steal a chicken, get caught, tell the world that you need to feed your family, and walla !!! All the kind-hearted folks chip in $$$$$$
Groovy man, grooooooovvvvy !!!
People preach so much, but sound really like Satan in disguise.
Satan is cold hearted. So are you if you are cold hearted. Satan has no mercy, so are you if you have no mercy.
Pity that some people do not know that they are really Satan in disguise.
A crime remains a crime but there may be some circumstances in which we can agree that the punishment befitting the crime may be lessened in recognition of the specific and special environment or situation which may have compelled him to commit that crime. I have witnessed mitigation in court for single parents who have been driven to theft to provide even the most basic of necessities…infant formula milk for their babies..would you say this justifies throwing her into jail? The plight of the baby? This is what is known as mitigating circumstances, Penang! It’s not justifying the crime but lessening the sentence in light of the specific circumstances.
The state of affairs in our country these days is a direct result of the negligence, corruption and sheer thievery that exists among (certain of) our so-called leaders. There are many poor people who are not educated and do not have anywhere to turn in these difficult times. Options are few, with our politicians and leaders being embroiled in one scandal or the other, almost on a daily basis…to busy to get down to the business of govrerning the country.
Penang, I find it difficult to believe that you live in Malaysia and actually had to go through 4 days without food!!! Just sit at any walkway and beg…you will find that some kind soul will throw a few coins your way. 4 days without food? You are just an educated person,no..let me rephrase that…you are obviously a person who has been to school, which we can surmise from the tone and language of your comments, and you are trying only to provoke some emphathy for yourself by saying you know what it’s like not to have eaten for 4 days. Just go and beg, man. Or at least offer to wash dishes at any restaurant. You will find jobs aplenty and perhaps you will also discover the meaning of humility.
I am not a christian, i do not read the bible and i do not claim any form of wisdom or wit. But i believe that humility is what made all great people attain their greatness. “The meek shall inherit the earth”. Or am I wrong?
kalau da cukup power ,plant x operate
tapi jimah plant still operate bile di perlukan
camner tu???
kadang2 org x tau pon still nak comment