German fined RM2,000 for vandalising LRT pillar with graffiti

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 16): A 31-year-old German national was punished with a RM2,000 fine or a two-month jail term in default, by the Magistrates Court here today after he pleaded guilty to vandalising a Light Rail Transit (LRT) pillar with graffiti, last week.

Simon Bethle, who is a chief operations officer with a film production company, pleaded guilty after the charge was read to him in English before magistrate Wong Chai Sia.

He was charged with committing mischief by vandalising a pillar at the Universiti LRT station here at 1am on Dec 10.

The offence under Section 427 of the Penal Code carries a penalty of up to five years of imprisonment or a fine or both.

Deputy public prosecutor Wan Ahmad Hakimi Wan Ahmad Jaafar urged the court to mete out an appropriate punishment to serve as a lesson.

However, Bethle who was unrepresented, appealed for a light sentence.

“I apologise for my actions and take full responsibility for the offence,” he said.