The court heard that Abdul Hamid Rizan, 27, and his brother, Faizal Rizan, 23, had committed the crime because they were desperate to pay RM30,000 in loan shark debts.

Berita Harian reported that magistrate Amirul Asyraf Abd Rashid ordered the sentence to be served from the date of their arrest on Jan 25.

Hamid and Faizal, originally from Sabah, were jointly charged with retaining a stolen van worth RM30,000 belonging to a mosque in Kampung Telok Gong near Port Klang.

The offence was committed at the surau of an apartment in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, around 1.05am on Jan 25.

They were charged under Section 411 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same code, which provides for six months to five years in jail and a fine if convicted.

According to the facts of the case, a police report was lodged on the theft of the hearse, worth RM30,000, sometime between Jan 17 and Jan 21.

On Saturday, a man stopped the duo in front of a surau in Johor after spotting the van, which had fake registration numbers.

A check confirmed the van was the same one reported missing from the mosque near Kampung Teluk Gong.

Lawyer Mark Jeyakumar, representing the accused, said they had committed the crime out of desperation after being hounded by a group of unlicensed moneylenders.

He said the brothers took the loan because they were trying to provide for their wives and children, as well as their two other siblings, aged 14 and 17.

Jeyakumar appealed for a good behaviour bond for the siblings, or a minimum prison sentence.

“The two siblings work at an e-commerce platform’s warehouse. Hamid is the breadwinner for his wife and three children, while Faizal is married with no children.

“Their parents have died. My clients apologise for the incident and promise not to repeat their crime,” he said.

Prosecuting officer Rabiul Awal Ishak asked for the duo to be given a sentence that would serve as a lesson.