Man jailed for thermos bottle theft

BOGOR (JP): A 22-year-old man has been sentenced by the Bogor District Court to nine months in jail for stealing a thermos bottle, a knife and several spoons and forks.

Judge Sri Koestati said in her verdict on Monday that the defendant, identified as Hengki Karmano, broke into a house while the owners were away.

"The defendant had observed the status of the house so that he knew when the house had been left by its owners," the judge said.

But when the defendant was about to leave the house with the stolen goods, the owners returned and shouted for help, she said.

"I stole to survive. I would have used part of the sales from the stolen goods to buy cigarettes," the defendant was quoted by the judge as saying.

Prosecutor Renny M. Pangaribuan said the defendant's act violated Article 563 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail.

"The defendant is a repeated offender, who has been jailed several times for similar offenses," Renny said. (24/hhr)