BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Borneo Bulletin/Asia News Network): The Court of Appeal recently dismissed an appeal of a former policeman for misappropriating money used for bail bonds.
Assisting the court in responding to the appeal, Prosecutor Shamshuddin Haji Kamaluddin laid the facts of the case in court.
Mohd Soffian Kipli was convicted after a trial in the Intermediate Court on Jan 23, 2021 on three charges involving criminal breach of trust by a public servant.
He was found guilty of misappropriating BND17,400 in bail bonds between Sept 1, 2015 and Fe 28, 2018.
Court of Appeal President Justice Michael Peter Burrell, sitting with Justices Conrad Seagroatt and Michael Lunn, saw that the trial judge was entitled to draw adverse inferences involving evidence in which he had repeatedly failed to hand over the entirety of the money, having only handed BND3,900 at the end.
The court also decided that the sentence of four years’ jail and compensation order of BND13,900 in favour of the police force was entirely appropriate.
The appellant’s abuse of position and authority had undermined public confidence in the integrity of the police force and the significant loss were taken into account.
