Kuala lumpur: A Vietnamese man, Nguyen Minh Hoa, 36, has been sentenced to eight months in jail and fined RM20,000 by the Magistrate's Court. He was found guilty of five charges, including causing harm to two men and a baby.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Nguyen Minh Hoa entered his guilty plea before Magistrate Aini Adilah Muhammad Faizal after the charges were presented to him in Vietnamese. The first two charges involved voluntarily causing harm to two individuals, one local and one Nepalese, using a knife at a supermarket in Telaga Air on August 9, at 1 pm.

The third charge accused him of attempting to cause injury to an 11-month-old boy at the same location and time. These charges fall under Section 324 of the Penal Code, along with Section 511, which stipulate penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment or a fine or whipping, or any combination of these punishments upon conviction.

For the fourth charge, Nguyen was accused of stealing various seafood and poultry items worth RM180 from the supermarket at 12:35 pm on the same day. This offence is covered under Section 380 of the Penal Code, which allows for up to 10 years of imprisonment or a fine or whipping upon conviction.

The final charge related to Nguyen overstaying in the country for over nine months, a violation under Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, punishable under Section 15(4) following the expiration of his visit pass on October 18, 2024.

Nguyen, who did not have legal representation, received a total fine of RM20,000 for the first three charges. If unable to pay, he faces an additional 23 months of imprisonment. For the theft charge, he was sentenced to three months in prison, starting from his arrest date. For overstaying, he received a five-month prison sentence, effective from the date of conviction.