Court stays RM367mil MyCC penalty against 4 feedmillers

 Kuala Lumpur High Court says the firms have shown credible evidence that they will suffer irreparable harm if required to pay the penalty before the judicial review hearing.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that the payment of the penalty now would impact the liquidity of the four feedmillers’ business and operations.

PETALING JAYA:

The Kuala Lumpur High Court has allowed four feedmillers a stay of execution on a RM367 million penalty imposed by the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) pending the disposal of the firms’ judicial review applications.

Justice Alice Loke, in granting the stay, said the balance of convenience and justice favoured the four firms should they succeed in their judicial review, The Edge reported.

She said the firms had shown credible evidence that they would suffer irreparable harm if required to pay the penalty before the judicial review hearing, should they ultimately succeed in their challenge.

“Following this, the court is granting the stay, pending the disposal of their judicial review,” Loke, the newly elevated Court of Appeal judge, said in her broad grounds.

The four firms are Leong Hup Feedmill Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Dindings Poultry Development Centre Sdn Bhd, FFM Bhd, and Gold Coin Feedmills (M) Sdn Bhd.

Their appeals to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) had been dismissed in February.

The four companies, along with a fifth firm, PK Agro-Industrial Products (M) Sdn Bhd, were fined over RM415 million – the commission’s biggest fine to date – for allegedly forming a “chicken feed cartel” to fix prices.

PK Agro-Industrial Products had decided not to appeal the fine.

Loke said the four companies’ lawyers argued that requiring them to pay the penalty would result in increased borrowings and expenses, affect company liquidity, and might disrupt business operations.

“The payment of the penalty will have an effect on the liquidity of their business and operations. MyCC as a statutory party is required to maintain the status quo until the merits of the feedmillers’ challenge are determined.

“If the penalty is imposed, it may deprive them of a successful litigation to challenge the finding of the tribunal in the judicial review proceedings,” she was quoted as saying by The Edge.

In February, the CAT unanimously rejected the appeals of the firms in challenging MyCC’s 2023 decision to impose the fine for forming a “chicken feed cartel” to fix prices.

The tribunal agreed that the companies had coordinated price increases on chicken feed, a key input in poultry farming, during three periods between Jan 31, 2020, and June 30, 2022.

In March, the High Court granted the four firms leave to proceed with their judicial review application against the penalty imposed. - FMT