KUALA LUMPUR: The company running the courts' online bail payment system invested RM130.8mil of bail money under its own name and earned up to RM5mil a year in interest while operating without a government contract for five years, says the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin.
In its report on the e-Jamin system tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Oct 5), she said bail paid through the platform went into the commercial accounts of operator Dapat Vista Sdn Bhd rather than the Consolidated Trust Account.
This breached Article 97(1) of the Federal Constitution and Section 7 of the Financial Procedure Act 1957, she said during a press conference in Parliament.
Of the RM193.71mil in bail deposits held as at Dec 31, 2024, she said Dapat Vista had invested RM130.8mil in the company's name, earning between RM4mil and RM5mil in interest a year.
Mas Ermieyati said e-Jamin had run in 192 courts nationwide since Jan 10, 2020, without a letter of appointment, letter of acceptance or formal contract with the Federal Government.
The system was introduced so bail could be paid online, sparing accused persons one to two extra days in remand when charged late in the day after banks had closed.
It was rolled out as a proof of concept approved by the Chief Justice but did not follow government procurement procedures, she said.
According to her, the fund also had no trustee, performance bond or insurance, leaving those who posted bail as ordinary creditors if the company went bust.
Mas Ermieyati said the committee also found an unreconciled gap of RM557,258 between e-Jamin's records and the company's bank statements, which it attributed to active daily bail transactions.
"Operating without a contract for five years through repeated special exemptions is too long a period of financial non-compliance," she said.
Mas Ermieyati said the committee wanted the agreement finalised urgently to protect the bail fund.
She also recommended that the Office of the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court build its own bail module to end reliance on a vendor and keep full government ownership of the data.
The PAC held four proceedings on the matter between Nov 4 and Dec 2 last year.
