Arbitrator jailed 6 months for cheating arbitration centre

Sessions Court finds chartered arbitrator guilty of cheating a director of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration in 2010.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court today sentenced a chartered arbitrator to six months in prison for cheating a director of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA) in 2010.

Judge Mohd Nasir Nordin also fined Yusof Holmes Abdullah RM20,000 after finding the Englishman, 73, guilty under Section 417 of the Penal Code.

“The accused had failed to raise a reasonable doubt as to the prosecution’s case,” he ruled.

“The court is satisfied with the witnesses’ testimonies and email communications with JMR Construction Sdn Bhd from the accused,” he said.

However, Judge Nasir allowed a stay of execution to the senior citizen pending his appeal to the High Court.

He set a RM40,000 bail and ordered Yusof to surrender his passport.

On June 25, 2013, Yusof claimed trial to cheating a KLRCA director into believing that the “Statement of Independence” declaration, dated Jan 18, 2010, which he signed was true.

This prompted the KLRCA director to appoint him (Yusof) as an arbitrator in the dispute between JMR Construction Sdn Bhd and Nanjing Changjiang Waterway Engineering Bureau.

An arbitrator is required to make a declaration of his independence to indicate his impartiality in any case that he presides over.

Yusof was charged with committing the offence at KLRCA here on Jan 25, 2010.

In mitigation, Yusof’s lawyer Alex D’Silva asked the court to impose only a fine on his client instead of a custodial sentence.

“He is 73 years old now and is a diabetic. His eyesight is not good and he suffers from a slipped disc,” D’Silva said.

Yusof has permanent resident status here and is married to a Malaysian. -FMT