PUTRAJAYA: Former Transmile chief executive officer Gan Boon Aun saw a significant reduction in his prison sentence after the Court of Appeal here overturned the High Court’s decision. Gan had been previously sentenced to two years in prison for providing misleading financial statements to Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (Bursa Malaysia). However, the three-member bench, comprised of Justices Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, Datuk M. Gunalan, and Datuk Azman Abdullah, restored the original decision made by the Sessions Court, sentencing Gan to a single day in jail and a fine of RM2.5 million.
This latest ruling by the Court of Appeal comes as a result of Gan’s successful appeal against the High Court’s order, reinstating the Sessions Court’s original decision from August 27, 2020. Justice Hadhariah, who delivered the court’s verdict on Monday (July 10), deemed the High Court’s decision to increase Gan’s prison sentence as invalid, citing a violation of Section 314 of the Criminal Procedure Code. She pointed out that the prosecution had failed to personally serve Gan with the notice of appeal and notice of hearing at the High Court, as required by the mentioned section.
In addition, Justice Hadhariah dismissed the Securities Commission’s argument that Gan’s lawyer did not have the legal standing to file the notice of appeal with the Court of Appeal against the High Court’s decision. The commission contended that the lawyer’s filing was incorrect as he had received instructions from Gan’s daughter instead of Gan himself. However, Justice Hadhariah found no merit in this argument.
Bernama reached out to Gan’s lawyer, Guok Ngek Seong, who confirmed the Court of Appeal’s decision. Interestingly, Gan had left Malaysia prior to the appeal hearing at the High Court to challenge his conviction and sentence imposed by the Sessions Court, as well as the cross-appeal on the sentence brought by the Securities Commission. He had already served the one-day jail term and paid the fine before leaving the country.
On January 25 of last year, the High Court allowed the Securities Commission’s appeal, resulting in Gan’s prison sentence being increased from one day to 24 months. Gan had been found guilty by the Sessions Court for providing misleading statements in Transmile’s Quarterly Report on Unaudited Consolidated Results for the Financial Year ending December 31, 2006. The false statements were related to Transmile’s revenue, involving over RM333 million in fictitious sales. Gan’s conviction falls under Section 122B read together with Section 122(1) of the Securities Industry Act 1983.
Gan was represented by Datuk V. Sithambaram and Guok during Monday’s court proceeding, while deputy public prosecutor from the Securities Commission, Mohd Hafiz Mohd Yusoff, appeared for the prosecution.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
