A restaurant assistant has been fined RM2,500 for throwing a decorative statue of Lord Ganesha into a dustbin, in Taman Scientex, in Senai, Johor.

Magistrate Sharifah Maleeha Syed Hussin of the Kulai Magistrate's Court yesterday ordered Gabriele Jungkak anak Steward to serve three months in jail if he fails to pay the fine.

According to reports, Gabriele Jungkak told the court that he threw away the statue as it "disturbed" him when he walked past it.

A 42-second CCTV clip of the accused pulling out the statue of Lord Ganesha, which was connected to a water fountain, before dumping it into a rubbish bin, went viral on social media recently.



The statue's owner TS Dineshwaran had told the police that the statue, which cost RM25, was placed there for decorative, and not prayer purposes. The incident reportedly happened about 9am on May 15.

Gabriele Jungkak was charged under Section 427 of the Penal Code for committing mischief, which provides a maximum five years in jail, or a fine, or both, upon conviction.

The accused also admitted to the court that he had previously thrown or burned other decorative religious statues at different locations and at different times.

Before passing out the sentence, Sharifah Maleeha advised Gabriele Jungkak to learn to live in a community and respect other people's belongings.


Source: The Star
Photo star: The Star, Sinar Harian, Facebook