PUTRAJAYA, Sept 24 — The Court of Appeal today upheld the conviction of a 75-year-old former lawyer for criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving RM477,000 in house sale proceeds but reduced his prison term from five years to two.
PUTRAJAYA, Sept 24 — The Court of Appeal today upheld the conviction of a 75-year-old former lawyer for criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving RM477,000 in house sale proceeds but reduced his prison term from five years to two.
A three-judge panel chaired by Justice Datuk Azman Abdullah, together with Justices Datuk Azmi Ariffin and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid, unanimously affirmed the conviction of Ab Gani Che Man. The court, however, shortened his sentence, taking into account his age, health, and the nature of the offence.
A warrant of committal was issued for Ab Gani to begin serving his term immediately. He had previously been out on RM25,000 bail with one surety while awaiting the appeal outcome.
Justice Azman said the High Court judge was correct in upholding the Sessions Court’s decision. He noted that Ab Gani was the sole signatory for his firm’s account, and the cheque issued to the complainant could not be honoured.
“After weighing the appellant’s mitigation, his age, health, the fact that this offence involved a client’s account, and public interest, we decided to reduce the sentence from five years to two, effective today,” Justice Azman said.
On December 13, 2022, the Sessions Court convicted Ab Gani and sentenced him to five years in prison, a decision later affirmed by the High Court on July 11, 2023.
According to the charge, Ab Gani was entrusted with handling the balance of proceeds from a house sale but failed to hand over RM477,000 to the complainant, Mohd Rusydi Razali. The incident occurred on April 6, 2016, at his former law firm in Desa Pandan, Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur.
Case details revealed that Mohd Rusydi had engaged Ab Gani to manage the property’s sale and transfer of ownership, which was completed on February 15, 2016. When Mohd Rusydi later sought the balance of payment released to the firm’s client account, Ab Gani issued him a RM477,000 cheque on April 7, 2016, which bounced due to insufficient funds.
In his defence, Ab Gani argued that he was no longer responsible for the firm’s management at the time, claiming the money was deposited after he had been suspended from legal practice and struck off the roll of advocates and solicitors.
Ab Gani, a former police officer who later became a lawyer, was represented by Datuk Azmi Talib, while Deputy Public Prosecutor Eyu Ghim Siang appeared for the prosecution. — Bernama
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