D
Diao Chan
Guest
Thursday September 30, 2010
A month’s jail suits him just fine
By ANN TAN
[email protected]
GEORGE TOWN: A foreman surprised the court when he opted for a one-month jail sentence instead of paying a RM300 fine for not having his MyKad on him. Magistrate Noor Aini Yusof imposed the fine on Lim Choon Leong, 38, after he pleaded guilty. “If you fail to pay the fine, you’ll be going to jail for one month,” Noor Aini said. Lim then asked the interpreter in Hokkien if he could save RM300 should he opt for jail and she nodded.
“Then I’d rather go to jail. It’s more worth it,” he told the court which caused a few in the gallery to giggle. Lim was charged with failing to present his MyKad when asked to at Jalan Edgecumbe at 11.55am on Sept 25 and also for not reporting the document lost to the National Registration Department. Earlier, Lim was warned by a court policeman for talking to several accused when the charge was read to him by the interpreter.
Noor Aini then asked if he had been sent to the Penang Hospital’s psychiatric ward in Perak Road for treatment before and he said he was sent there by the police for a two-week treatment once. When asked if he was still a patient, he answered: “(The) doctor says I’m fine now so I don’t have to go there anymore.” Deputy public prosecutor S. Selvaranjini prosecuted.
