Student who stole to pay tuition fees jailed

KUALA LUMPUR: His father is suffering from severe epilepsy while his security guard mother suffers from three kinds of cancer.

Adding more pressure to the college student, his tuition fees are also due. In desperation, he did the only thing he could think of – steal.

Mohd Hafiz Leo Azman, 19, told a court this after he pleaded guilty to a committing housebreaking and theft.

He had broken into a unit at the Pantai police station quarters where he stole a handbag containing RM300, an identity card, a driver's licence, an ATM card and a Sony Ericsson cellphone worth RM900 belonging to 29-year-old housewife Noorhazlindah Ahmad Zain.

Mohd Hafiz committed the offence between 11pm on Dec 12 last year and 9am of the next day.

In asking for a lenient sentence, he told the court that his mother, who still works despite her condition, had to get constant medical treatment as she suffered from cancer of the breast, womb and bone.

Mohd Hafiz said he was sorry for what he had done as he felt pressured because of the RM250 to RM280 he needed to fork out in tuition fees for the certificate course he was pursuing.

Magistrate Nazran Mohd Sham jailed Mohd Hafiz for a day and fined him RM1,000 or a month’s jail in default.

He paid the fine.