A man who stole infant formula milk for his two children was today sentenced to three days' jail and fined RM1,200 by the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court.

Magistrate Mahyudin Mohamad Som also sentenced T Gopal, 34, to two months' jail if he failed to pay the fine.

Gopal, who paid the fine, confessed to stealing four packets of Enfalac milk and two cans of Frisocal Gold, amounting to RM502.60 from 99 Speedmart, Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah in Kuala Lumpur at 8.05pm on Jan 6, 2017, and was arrested soon after.

The court ordered Gopal to serve his sentence from the date he was arrested.

He was charged under Section 380 of the Penal Code which carries a jail sentence of up to 10 years or fine, and for a subsequent sentence, to be punished with jail, or fine, or caning.

Counsel P Muniswer who represented Gopal urged the court to impose a minimum sentence as he had committed the offence out of desperation.

"He stole the formula milk for his children who are four and two years old, it is his first offence, and his wife will be giving birth to their third child in two weeks' time," he said.

Deputy public prosecutor Nur Farah Adilah Noordin urged for a suitable sentence to be imposed as a deterrent to the accused.

Meanwhile, in a separate trial in the same court, a worker in a food outlet was sentenced to a RM3,500 fine or four months' jail for intentionally causing harm to a man by using a paper cutter.

Magistrate Mahyudin Mohamad Som imposed the sentence on R Mhuhilan, 31, after he confessed to injuring P Arun, 32, on the head and left thumb at a food outlet next to Hotel Ancasa, in Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock in Kuala Lumpur at 8.30pm on Jan 6.

- Bernama