Man who vandalized Komagata Maru memorial pleads guilty to North Vancouver dog theft

A Vancouver man who vandalized the Komagata Maru memorial in Coal Harbour three years ago has been convicted in the high-profile heist of a golden retriever earlier this year.

Yuniar Kurniawan, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of theft in Downtown Community court Thursday and was sentenced to one day in jail and 12 months probation.

1:37 Vancouver building named after main figure in Komogata Maru incident

Amber, a six-year-old golden retriever, was stolen outside a Shoppers Drug Mart on Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver on Feb. 12.

RCMP said Amber’s owner had briefly gone inside the pharmacy and returned to find her dog missing.

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Surveillance from a nearby construction site captured footage of a man walking a dog who matched Amber’s description.

After police released images of the dog and suspect on social media, Const. Mansoor Sahak said they received multiple calls that Amber and her dognapper were on a Seabus heading towards Vancouver.

Metro Vancouver Transit Police later arrested the suspect at Waterfront Skytrain station and returned Amber to her owner.

Kurniawan was also sentenced to one day in jail and 12 months probation in Dec. 2022, after being convicted of mischief under $5,000 in the defacing of the Komagata Maru memorial.

The memorial was splattered with white paint and hand prints, and plastered with graffiti in August 2021.

The memorial contains the names of 376 passengers who sailed from India to Vancouver aboard the SS Komagata Maru in 1914, but were denied entry due to racist exclusionary immigration policies against those of Asian origin.