PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has reinstated 84 criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering charges against company director Tan Hoo Eng, overturning a High Court decision that struck them out.
A three-member bench, chaired by Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah, unanimously allowed the prosecution's appeal.
In delivering the judgment, Justice Sequerah held that the High Court erred in relying on notes of proceedings from a civil case to dismiss the charges. He emphasised that Section 33 of the Evidence Act 1950 expressly prohibits the use of civil trial evidence in criminal proceedings, noting that this case did not fall within any statutory exceptions.
"We are of the view that the issues of bias and unfair investigation cannot be summarily determined by affidavit evidence," he stated, adding that such matters must be tested at a full trial through the rigorous examination of witnesses.
Justice Sequerah held that, as the trial had already commenced, the Judicial Commissioner ought to have allowed it to proceed to its conclusion rather than striking out the charges summarily.
The appellate court has scheduled a mention of Tan's case at the Ipoh Sessions Court for Oct 27.
Tan, 68, faced 30 counts of CBT under Section 409 of the Penal Code and 54 money laundering charges under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities (AMLA) Act 2001.
The case has a long procedural history. She was initially charged in the Sessions Court between 2015 and 2016.
The charges were later revised in 2017, with the CBT charges involving RM4.1mil and the AMLA charges totaling RM9.5mil, and were subsequently amended again in August 2019.
In 2023, Tan successfully applied to the High Court to have the charges set aside. At that time, then Judicial Commissioner Moses Susayan (now a High Court Judge) ruled that her rights under Articles 5(1) and 8(1) of the Federal Constitution had been breached.
He found that bias and prosecutorial misconduct had compromised the fairness of the investigation and the criminal proceedings against her, a finding that the Court of Appeal has now overturned.
In reaching its decision to dismiss the charges, the High Court relied on the notes of proceedings from a separate civil case, concluding that this evidence demonstrated a violation of Tan's right to a fair investigation.
The underlying case stems from a protracted dispute between Tan and Lim Keck Eng, who served as joint directors and equal shareholders in Blue Star Moulding Sdn Bhd.
At Thursday's (Oct 16) proceedings, deputy public prosecutors Zander Lim Wai Keong and Mohd Fuad Abdul Aziz appeared for the prosecution. The defendant, Tan, was represented by counsel Gurbachan Singh. – Bernama
