Reports Of Man Stealing Milo To Fund Mother’s Dialysis Untrue - MAIM

MELAKA, Aug 30 (Bernama) -- Media reports claiming that a man sentenced to jail and fined two days ago for stealing packets of Milo from a supermarket in Ayer Keroh, did so to cover his mother’s dialysis treatment costs are not true.

Melaka Islamic Religious Council (MAIM) deputy chairman Datuk Rahmad Mariman said that the Merlimau Branch Zakat Distribution Squad discovered during a visit to the man’s mother’s home in Kampung Berangan Enam that the elderly woman with a urinary disease does not need dialysis treatment.

He said that MAIM records show the man received emergency assistance from the zakat office counter in 2022 and for his mother to be eligible for dialysis assistance, she must meet criteria such as being a MAIM recipient, not receiving aid from the Public Service Department or Social Security Organisation, and having an income below the kifayah limit.

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“In additon, the claim that the woman (also jailed and fined by the court for committing the same offence) is the man’s wife is untrue. They are not married; the woman is still legally married to someone else and is alleged to have left her home to be with the man.

“Further investigation revealed that the woman’s legal husband has been an active recipient of MAIM assistance, receiving a one-off emergency food aid, monthly food assistance, and school aid totalling RM940 since 2018,” he said in a statement here today.

Rahmad advised the public to verify any information received before disseminating to prevent any confusion about the zakat distribution process.

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The media previously reported that a husband and wife were sentenced to 28 days in prison and fined RM3,000 by the Mgistrate’s Court here after being found guilty of stealing 19 packets of 2 kilogramme Milo from a supermarket in Ayer Keroh last July.

Magistrate Khairunnisak Hassni handed down the sentence on Mohamad Nor Azam Bakar, 34, and Noor Azura Rosslan, 38, after they pleaded guilty to the charge.

Lawyer Nigel Tai, representing the accused, pleaded for a lighter sentence, saying that the offence was committed in an attempt to cover the dialysis treatment costs for Mohamad Nor Azam’s mother.

However, media reports about the case has captured the attention of netizens, who questioned MAIM’s role in assisting the needy, and some parties even offered to pay the couple’s fine out of sympathy.

-- BERNAMA