KUALA LUMPUR — The High Court here today acquitted and discharged Big Blue Premium Taxi Services founder Shamsubahrin Ismail (picture) of a charge of defrauding a businessman over a security contract at the Petronas KLCC Twin Towers six years ago.
Judge K. Muniandy made the ruling after allowing the appeal by 59-year-old Shamsubahrin to set aside the Sessions Court’s decision on Sept 20, 2023, which had sentenced him to three years in prison.
In his judgement, Judge Muniandy said the Sessions Court judge had ruled that the contract did not exist, a finding that contradicted witness testimonies stating the agreement was in place but was subsequently cancelled by KLCC, resulting in the complainant not securing the contract.
He said the cancellation of the contract was beyond the control of the accused (Shamsubahrin) and that the Sessions Court judge had failed to take this into account before concluding that the accused had defrauded the complainant.
“Therefore, the mens rea element required to establish the accused’s criminal conduct was not stated in the charge. The Sessions Court judge made no finding on whether the mens rea was proven by the prosecution,” he said.
Judge Muniandy said the complainant company had failed to take the necessary steps to comply with the registration procedure and failed to submit the complete documents, adding that the RM300,000 paid was a commission to the accused if the project was secured.
“Therefore, the appeal is allowed and the conviction against the accused is set aside. The accused is discharged and acquitted of the charge under Section 420 of the Penal Code,” he said during today’s proceedings, which were also attended by deputy public prosecutor Izalina Abdullah and defence counsel Zulkifli Awang.
The trial began on Nov 2, 2022, with five prosecution witnesses and three defence witnesses, including the accused, called to testify.
In April 2021, Shamsubahrin was charged with cheating Izham Ramli, 37, by deceiving him into believing he could secure a security contract at KLCC within 30 days, which caused the victim to transfer RM300,000 to the RHB Bank account of Messrs Muhammad Zahir, a sum he would not have handed over had he known he had been defrauded.
The offence was allegedly committed at a restaurant in KLCC in early October 2019 under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which provides for a prison sentence of up to 20 years, whipping and a fine if convicted. — BERNAMA
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