BATU PAHAT: A backhoe driver hired by a loan shark to throw a glass bottle of red paint at a sewing machine shop was fined RM4,000 by the magistrate's court here today.
S. Prathivi Raj, 31, pleaded guilty before magistrate Suhaila Shafi'uddin to the Oct 5 attack, in which he threw a paint-filled bottle at the business premises owned by a 45-year-old man in Jalan Flora Utama 3, Taman Flora Utama here.
According to the facts of the case, Prathivi Raj claimed he was instructed to vandalise the property as retaliation for unpaid wages owed to the loan shark by his client.
He was charged under Section 426 of the Penal Code for committing mischief, an offence punishable by up to three months' imprisonment, a fine, or both.
Police received a report from the victim on the day of the attack, leading to Prathivi Raj's arrest six days later.
Deputy public prosecutor Farah Wahidah Mohd Sharip prosecuted, while Prathivi Raj was unrepresented.
The court ordered him to serve a one-month jail term if he fails to pay the fine.