Court of Appeal upholds businessman’s acquittal on 122 fraud, forgery charges

 Judge says the High Court correctly identified fatal fundamental flaws in the prosecution's case, rendering the sessions court's conviction unsafe to uphold.

A three-member Court of Appeal panel of judges dismissed the prosecution’s final appeal against the acquittal of N Narendran by the Ipoh High Court in Janaury 2022.

PUTRAJAYA:

The Court of Appeal today upheld the acquittal of a businessman on 122 counts of cheating and using forged documents involving medical equipment supply investments worth more than RM6 million in 2015.

A three-member panel comprising Justices Azman Abdullah, Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz and K Muniandy dismissed the prosecution’s final appeal against the acquittal of N Narendran, 46, by the Ipoh High Court in January 2022.

Delivering the unanimous decision, Muniandy said the bench was satisfied that the High Court judicial commissioner had correctly evaluated the burden of proof and applicable legal principles.

He said the absence of mens rea (guilty mind) at the onset of the transactions, material contradictions in the charges, and the lack of forensic evidence proving forgery rendered the original sessions court conviction unsafe.

“We also found that the High Court judicial commissioner did not commit any error of fact or law warranting appellate intervention. On the contrary, the High Court correctly identified fatal fundamental flaws in the prosecution’s case, rendering the sessions court’s conviction unsafe to uphold.

“The appellant’s appeal is, therefore, unanimously dismissed. The High Court’s discharge and acquittal order for the respondent (Narendran) on all 122 charges is valid and affirmed,” he said.

Muniandy noted that because the forgery charges were inextricably linked to the primary cheating allegations that the prosecution failed to prove, the charges under Section 471 of the Penal Code collapsed on their own.

On April 9, 2021, the Ipoh sessions court sentenced Narendran to 10 years’ imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane after finding him guilty of all charges.

The High Court subsequently overturned the conviction and acquitted him in January 2022 following his appeal.

According to the charge sheet, Narendran faced 105 counts of cheating a man by deceiving him into believing that state government purchase orders for investments in supplying disposable medical equipment to a hospital in Ipoh, Perak, were genuine.

He was accused of inducing the victim to hand over cheques and cash amounting to between RM20,000 and RM350,000 for non-existent investments at four locations between May and December 2015.

The charges were framed under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which provides for a prison sentence of up to 10 years, whipping and a fine upon conviction.

Narendran also faced 17 counts of using forged documents involving the same victim and transaction under Section 471 of the Penal Code, punishable under Section 467 of the same code, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine.

He allegedly used several forged Perak state government purchase orders as genuine at Ganang Resources at the Greentown Business Centre between April and October 2015.

Deputy public prosecutor How May Ling appeared for the prosecution, while counsel S Meharaj, Nur Syazwani Hassan and R Vikraman represented Narendran. - FMT