Justice Datuk Mohd Arief Emran Arifin, in dismissing the appeals by Su Eng Kooi and Yap Choong Seong, held that there were no errors of law or fact by the lower court and that the convictions were safe.

However, the court granted a stay of execution of the sentences pending the appellants’ final appeal to the Court of Appeal.

The two were first charged at the Sessions Court on July 5, 2017, with two charges each under Section 58(1) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA), read together with Section 367(1) of the same Act.

The appellants, who were officers of Jalatama at the material time, were deemed to have committed the offences between July 2011 and September 2013. Following a full trial, both were found guilty and convicted by the Sessions Court on December 12, 2022.

They were each sentenced to one year’s imprisonment and fined RM1 million, with a further one-year jail term in default of payment.

In a statement issued by the Securities Commission Malaysia, it viewed the judgment positively and added that dealing in derivatives is a regulated activity and any person carrying on a business in regulated activities requires a licence from the SC under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007.

SC Deputy Public Prosecutor Annarina Chacko Jacob and prosecuting officers Mohd Shafiq Azman, Mark Rohan Mahadevan and Danial Imran Nasaruddin represented the Commission. — Bernama