Magistrate Nur Hafizah Rajuni handed down the decision yesterday after examining a report by the social welfare department on Daniel Iskandar, now 20.

“The accused is a young offender. Therefore, the court orders that he be sent to the Henry Gurney School until he reaches the age of 21,” Bernama reported the magistrate as saying.

Daniel will be sent to the Henry Gurney School in Telok Mas, Melaka.

He was charged under Section 380 of the Penal Code with stealing RM74 from a donation box at Surau Al Munir, Batu 17 Kuang, Rawang, at 12.44pm on Dec 5, 2020. He was 19 years old at the time.

The charge provides for a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine, and a second or subsequent offence is punishable with imprisonment and a fine or whipping.

During mitigation, lawyer Suhaida Sobri from the Selangor legal aid department said her client was a young offender and was remorseful.

“Before he was arrested, he worked at a car workshop and was cared for by his grandfather. His parents have divorced and he is the oldest of three siblings, with one of them a person with disabilities,” she said.

Welfare officer Hanafi Sedi requested Daniel to be sent to the Henry Gurney School while deputy public prosecutor Wan Nur Iman Wan Ahmad Afzal requested a deterrent sentence.

On Jan 13 last year, Daniel was sentenced to 10 days in jail and fined RM4,000 under Section 511 for attempting to steal money from the donation box of the Al Islahiah Mosque in Kuang, Rawang.

However, on Jan 17, the Shah Alam High Court set aside the jail sentence and fine and instead, replaced the punishment with 120 hours of social service to be completed within six months, particularly at mosques.

Daniel’s case gained national attention after a video emerged of him being subjected to punishment at the hands of an imam after being caught. He was washed like how a corpse would be before burial, which critics said was akin to waterboarding.