at the workstation, said an Industrial Court chairman.parsimonious, penny-pinching and woefully constrained environment
Augustine Anthony, who overturned the sacking of Che Mohd Bhakir Yusof, said the high likelihood of accidental contact at the workstation could not be ruled out considering the less than satisfactory working conditions in which he had to teach the complainant.
Bhakir, who joined MAB Kargo in 2015, faced two allegations of sexual harassment in July 2021. The company instituted a domestic inquiry and sacked him five months later after finding him guilty.
In overturning the decision, the court awarded Bhakir a total of RM33,344, which consisted of 10 months’ back pay based on his last drawn salary of RM2,084 and six months’ wages as compensation in lieu of reinstatement.
In his 55-page judgment delivered on Aug 27, Anthony said MAB Kargo had failed to prove on the balance of probabilities that the dismissal was carried out with just cause or excuse.
He said it was clear from a MAB Kargo demonstration about its workstations that accidental body contact could not be ruled out when employees were working side by side.
Anthony said the demeanour of the complainant during the hearing as she was explaining the inappropriate touches or physical contact purportedly initiated by the claimant gave an impression that she herself was unsure about how the touches occurred.
He said the complainant’s statements and testimonies were also riddled with numerous inconsistencies.
he said.The eyewitnesses and people who were present at the scene at the time of the events, as narrated by the complainant, simply did not exist,
Even if there were any eyewitnesses, none of them were called to give any evidence.
He said there were
in the complainant’s statements and evidence, as the dates of the purported incidents were so badly mixed up that it appeared they occurred on the same date as the police report was lodged.irreparable inconsistencies
He said the complainant even called Bhakir to apologise for lodging a police report against him.
Anthony said the court found the conduct of the complainant
, which could only exonerate Bhakir from any wrongdoing.surprisingly unpredictable and strange
he said.On the one hand, she decided to lodge a police report against the claimant, which could have caused him untold hardship and misery. On the other hand, she expressed remorse and apologised to him for filing the damaging report,
This conduct does not reflect a person who had suffered any acts of sexual harassment, but a person expressing a feeling of guilt for victimising the claimant.
The police had classified the case as
after Bhakir lodged a counter report against the complainant for making false allegations.no further action
Anthony said two employees from the company gave testimony supporting the claimant, which showed that he did not or could not have committed the alleged sexual harassment. However, the domestic inquiry disregarded them, he said.
He said the testimony of the complainant, which related to her manner of interaction with the claimant, quite clearly showed that her claims about being a
who was regularly bullied or harassed by the claimant were not true.helpless victim
Anthony said that based on the complainant’s own statements, she was seen to be an aggressor in several interactions with the claimant.
He said the complainant’s testimony that she would bite the hand or finger of the claimant, whether when angry or as a playful gesture, certainly showed she was not fearful of the claimant.
Aliff Haiqal Roslan, Nurul Hafidzah Hassan and Zeti Zulfah Hassan appeared for Bhakir while Rebecca Sonali Alfred and Sebastian Tay Hanxin represented the company. - FMT
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