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INDUSTRIAL COURT OF MALAYSIA
CASE NO. : 3(28)(3)(24)/4-329/08
BETWEEN
TAN YEOK WAH
AND
AYAMAS FOOD CORPORATION SDN. BHD.
AWARD NO. : 165 OF 2013
Before : PUAN ANNA NG FUI CHOO - Chairman(Sitting Alone)
Venue : Industrial Court Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
Date ofReference : 20.2.2008
Dates of
Mention
: 21.4.2008, 4.6.2008, 13.8.2008, 17.10.2008,
5.12.2008, 6.1.2009, 23.1.2009, 3.4.2009,20.4.2009, 6.5.2009, 27.8.2009, 19.3.2010,23.6.2010, 28.7.2010, 25.8.2010, 15.11.2010,18.2.2011, 18.4.2011, 22.4.2011, 9.6.2011,22.7.2011, 3.8.2011, 16.11.2011, 22.11.2011,20.12.2011, 17.1.2012, 30.4.2012
Dates ofHearing
: 10.9.2009, 11.12.2009, 6.4.2010, 9.8.2010,10.8.2010, 19.4.2011, 24.5.2011, 13.7.2011,
24.8.2011, 7.9.2011, 1.11.2011, 2.11.2011,7.12.2011, 13.6.2012, 16.7.2012, 8.8.2012,7.9.2012
WrittenSubmissions : 15.10.2012, 16.10.2012
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Representation : Mr. Vinod KamalanathanFrom Messrs Vinod Kamalanathan & AssociatesCounsel for the Claimant
Ms. Wan Sarimah Bte Wan HusainFrom Messrs Zainal Abidin & CoCounsel for the Company
Reference
This is a reference made under section 20 (3) of the Industrial
Relations Act 1967 (the Act) arising out of the dismissal ofTan Yeok
Wah (hereinafter referred to as the Claimant) by Ayamas FoodCorporation Sdn Bhd (hereinafter referred to as the Company) on 15
June 2006.
AWARD
[1] The Ministerial reference in this case required the Court to hear
and determine the Claimants complaint of dismissal by the Company on
15 June 2006.
[2] The hearing of this case commenced on 10 September 2009
before learned Chairman Mr. Franklin Goonting and had continued
thereafter on various dates. Mr. Goonting's contract as a Chairmanended on 31 December 2011 so this case was transferred to this court
by the learned President to facilitate the continuation of the trial. The
third witness of the Company (COW3) was in the midst of his cross-
examination when this case was heard before me. This court had the
opportunity to hear his evidence and the last Company's witness before
the Claimant and her witness gave evidence in the Claimant's case.
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[3] The Claimant was first employed by the Company as a general
clerk with effect from 17 August 1981. At the time of her dismissal, the
Claimant held the position of Broiler Executive and her last drawn
monthly salary was RM3,500.00. The Claimant confirmed that the
nature of her duties as a Broiler Executive were inter alia the following:
(a) attending to customers that have obtained the contract for
disposal of chicken parts and to walk in customers who
intended to purchase the chicken parts;
(b) processing documentation for the disposal of the chicken
parts; and
(c) doing a market survey with regard to the disposal of chicken
parts and producing it to the management.
Facts Leading to the Claimants Dismissal
[4] On 24 May 2006, the Claimant received a suspension letter from
the Company alleging that she had received 'kick back' from several
buyers of the Company. On that day itself, a meeting was held by the
Company for the purpose of investigation into the alleged misconduct of
the Claimant. The said meeting was attended by the Claimant whilst the
Company was represented by the Senior General Manager, Group
Human Resources and Security, Mr. Hishamudin Mon, the Vice
President of Integrated Poultry and Manufacturing Mr. Alan Au and the
General Manager of Internal Audit, Mr. Edmund Loong (COW2). The
Claimant was suspended on full pay from 24 May 2006 to 6 June 2006.
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[5] After the 24 May 2006 meeting, the Claimant was given a letter
dated 30 May 2006 (pages 6 and 7 of the Company's Bundle of
Documents (COB)) containing another allegation that she had received
a Maybank cheque no. 641958 dated 28 April 2006 amounting to
RM5,000.00 which was banked into her Maybank account number
512558110454. In the same letter, the Claimant was told to attend an
inquiry on 6 June 2006 at 9.00am which was to be held at the
headquarters of the Company at Kuala Lumpur. The Claimant attended
the domestic inquiry (DI) where one Mr. Chew Kah Poh (COW3) was
called as a witness of the Company.
[6] The charges of misconduct preferred against the Claimant were
the following:
(i) That you, while in the employment of the Company as
Broiler Executive at Ayamas Corporation Sdn Bhd, Port
Klang between the period of 1 January 1999 and May 2006,
had accepted from one buyer name Mr. Chew Kah Poh
monetary reward for dealings that you have with his
Company on behalf of the Company whether you knew or
ought to have known that such practices were improper,
against the interest of the Company and in breach ofCompany's rules and regulations and policies thereby
committing a serious act of misconduct. The details of the
payments accepted are as follows:
7.4.2004 RM1,950.00 Maybank Account 512558110454
4.6.2004 RM1,800.00 Maybank Account 512558110454
1.7.2004 RM2,000.00 Maybank Account 512558110454
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(ii) That you, while in the employment of the Company as Broiler
Executive at Ayamas Corporation Sdn Bhd, Port Klang
between the period of 1 January 2006 and May 2006, had
accepted from one buyer name Mr. Chew Kah Poh a further
monetary reward for dealings that you have with his
Company on behalf of the Company whether you knew or
ought to have known that such practices were improper,
against the interest of the Company and in breach of
Company's rules, regulations and policies thereby
committing a serious act of misconduct. The details of the
payment accepted is as follows:
Maybank Cheque No. 641958 dated 28 April 2006 in the
amount of RM5,000.00.
[7] In the Company's letter dated 14 June 2006 (page 33 of COB) the
Claimant was notified that her service was terminated with effect from
15 June 2006.
The Domestic Inquiry (DI)
[8] The DI proceeded on 6 June 2006 and after hearing the testimonyof three (3) Company's witnesses and after considering the facts and
circumstances surrounding the case, the inquiry panel unanimously
found the Claimant guilty of the charges of misconduct levelled against
her (page 32 of COB). Having regard to the findings of the inquiry panel
and the seriousness of the charges of misconduct of which the Claimant
was found guilty of, the Company decided to dismiss the Claimant.
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[9] In the course of the hearing of this case, the former learned
Chairman presiding over this matter made a ruling that the charges
preferred against the Claimant were not proper and held that the
domestic inquiry conducted involving the Claimant was null and void.
Hence, it was ordered that the parties were not to rely on the domestic
inquiry proceedings against the Claimant. Consequently, the Company
would have to prove denovo the charges against the Claimant before
this Court.
[10] The Company relied on the authority of Wong Yuen Hock v.
Syarikat Hong Leong Assurance Sdn Bhd & Another Appeal [1995] 3
CLJ 344 which followed the decision of the Supreme Court in
Dreamland Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd v. Choong Chin Sooi & Industrial
Court of Malaysia [1988] 1 CLJ 1 that a defective inquiry or failure to
hold a domestic inquiry is not a fatality but only an irregularity curable by
de novo proceedings before the Industrial Court.
[11] InWong Yuen Hock v. Syarikat Hong Leong Assurance Sdn Bhd
& Another Appeal,supra, it was stated:
It was not within the ambit of the reference for the Industrial
Court to determine whether Hong Leong ought to be punishedfor failing to hold a domestic inquiry. The Industrial Court was
not competent to declare the dismissal void for failure to
comply with the rule of natural justice. The very purpose of the
inquiry before the Industrial Court was to give both parties to
the dispute an opportunity to be heard irrespective of whether
there was a need for the employer to hold a contractual or
statutory inquiry. We were confident that the Industrial
Court as constituted at present was capable of arriving at fair
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result by fair means on all matters referred to it. If therefore
there had been a procedural breach on natural justice
committed by the employer at the initial stage, there was no
reason why it could not be cured at the re-hearing by the
Industrial Court..
The Company's Case
[12] The Company called four (4) witnesses to prove the charges of
misconduct for which the Claimant was found guilty of i.e. that theClaimant had accepted from COW3 monetary rewards which were paid
into the Claimant's account. It was not disputed that the Maybank
account number 512558110454 had belonged to the Claimant.
[13] During the trial, Ms. Chan Swee Kheng (COW1) confirmed that
she had on 22 May 2006 prepared a report on allegations of misconduct
involving the Claimant to the Senior General Manager, Group Human
Resources and Security of the Company. A copy of the report is found
at pages 3 and 4 of COB. COW1 confirmed that the report was
prepared by her upon receiving the instruction from Ms. PP Foo (Ms Foo
Peng Peng - COW4), who was personally informed of the Claimant's
alleged misconduct by one customer known as Mr. Chew Kah Poh.
[14] COW4 was the Managing Director of KFC Marketing Sdn Bhd, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Prior to that appointment in
2008, she was the Senior Vice President in Sales and Marketing
Division of Ayamas Food Corporation Sdn Bhd in Port Klang. She
stated in her witness statement that COW3 went to see her at her office
in Kuala Lumpur on 15 May 2006. It was to express his disappointment
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on his failure to secure the tender for purchase of offal meal with the
Company. During the meeting, COW3 informed her about the monies
which had been paid to the Claimant during the business transactions
with the Company in order to maintain smooth sales' transactions as
requested by the Claimant. The payments were mostly cash payments
and only a few payments were made vide herbank account.
[15] COW4 had asked COW3 to substantiate his complaint with
supporting documents which he did. COW3 had returned to see COW4
with the documents on pages 10 to 12 of COB. Upon disclosure of the
documents, COW4 contacted COW1 to look into the matter as she was
the Sales Manager and at the material time, she was the Claimant's
superior. The meeting with COW4 on 15 May 2006 was also confirmed
by COW3 in his evidence.
[16] Under cross-examination, COW4 said she had known COW3 and
his late father for many years because of business dealings. COW3
was considered one of the big customers of the Company because
waste collection was a specialised field. She said that in theory, the
Claimant had to report everything to COW1 and to get approval from the
top management according to set procedures. However, in the
production of wastes, the quantity could only be determined at the endof the business day so the figures fluctuated. The top management
would have fixed the pricing on the estimated quantity but the actual
quantity could only be determined at the end of the business day. She
claimed that the Claimant was entrusted with the job to decide on behalf
of the Company who to sell the excess to.
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[17] COW2 stated in his witness statement that he was summoned to
attend the meeting held on 24 May 2006 together with Mr. Hishamudin
Mon and Mr. Alan Au. He further testified that during the meeting, the
Claimant had explained that the Maybank cheque for the sum of
RM5,000.00 was given by COW3 to the Claimant for the purpose of the
renewal of his insurance policy. However, when she was shown the
copies of the deposit slips, the Claimant was alleged to have said that
she had received and used up the monies. However, she said that she
had never asked for the money from COW3.
[18] COW3's evidence in chief was to the effect that:
(a) the Claimant herself asked and/or requested for payment
from COW3 to ensure smooth business transactions with the
Company and also for assisting COW3 to introduce new and
potential buyers to COW3;
(b) the payments were either made in cash, telegraphic transfer
or cheques;
(c) he did not keep proper record on cash payments but there
were three (3) deposit slips provided by COW3 as proof ofpayments made to the Claimant;
(d) the details of the deposit slips are as particularised in
paragraph 6 above;
(e) the monies were paid into the Claimant's Maybank account
as requested by the Claimant;
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(f) that every time there was a reduction in price, the amount of
commission asked to be paid to the Claimant was calculated
based on the margin of the reduced price multiplied by the
tonnage of the goods collected by COW3;
(g) the Maybank account no. 512558110454 was provided by
the Claimant to COW3 via text message; and
(h) the Claimant had called him on the telephone to bank in the
money.
The Claimant's Case
[19] The Claimant denied the Company's allegations based on these
reasons:
(a) The contracts were awarded by the Company itself.
(b) The disposal price was determined by the Company itself.
(c) The Claimant had no authority nor was she involved in the
decision making of the above contracts and the disposalprice.
(d) It was the Company that decided to give the contract to
COW3 and she had no authority to decide to whom the
contracts were to be given to.
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(e) COW3 did not know how to write simple letters or filled up
certain forms either to the Company or to other related
authorities.
(f) In those circumstances, the Claimant was instructed by her
superior, Mr. Kevin Chang being the Deputy Manager of the
Company to assist COW3 in respect of matters stated in
paragraph (e) above.
(g) The cheque for RM5,000.00 was given to the Claimant to
assist COW3 with his insurance payment.
[20] On the excess stock, the Claimant said the new price was decided
by Dr. Kooi and the price would be conveyed to her by Mr. Kevin Chang
or COW1. The Claimant's role was to fill the forms for the customers so
they could propose their reduced prices to be considered by Dr. Kooi
and for his approval. Once the price was approved by him, the form
would be sent to the Claimant and for the products and stocks to be
processed, usually by Mr. Azami. The Claimant also denied that she
had ever given her bank accountnumber to COW3. She said COW3
was close to Mr. Azami who worked at the factory where the products
and stocks were collected and Mr. Azami was also in charge of the
Personnel Department. Her Maybank account was also used to credit
her monthly salary. She stated she was never aware that monies had
been banked into her account by COW3 or that she had received any
commission of any sort from him. In cross-examination, she said that
her brother used to deposit money to her Maybank account because she
is single and lived with her mother and took care of her.
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[21] The Claimant explained that the cheque on page 11 of COB was
the payment for COW3's insurance cover while page 15 of COB was the
official receipt issued by the insurance company i.e. Great Eastern Life
Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad for the said payment. CLW2 was the
Claimant's niece who testified that she had helped COW3 to renew his
insurance. She said that her aunt i.e. the Claimant had called her some
time at the end of April 2006 and had asked her to help COW3 to re-
instate his insurance policy. She said she had told the Claimant that she
could do so and that to re-instate the policy would cost him about
RM5,000.00 since his yearly payment was RM2,293.00 with late
payment charges and interest. She confirmed the RM5,000.00 payout
made to the Claimant for the said insurance policy that had been
received.
The Function of the Court
[22 ] In theFederal Court case ofMilan Auto Sdn Bhd v. Wong Seh
Yen[1995] 4 CLJ 449, it was authoritatively stated as follows:
As pointed out by the Court recently in Wong Yuen Hock v.
Syarikat Hong Leong Assurance Sdn Bhd [1995] 2 MLJ 753,the
function of the Industrial Court in dismissal cases on a reference
under s. 20 is twofold, first, to determine whether the misconduct
complained of by the employer has been established, and
secondly, whether the proven misconduct constitutes just cause
or excuse for the dismissal..
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[23] On the duty of the court, in Goon Kwee Phoy v. J & P (M) Bhd
[1981] 2 MLJ 129, his Lordship Raja Azlan Shah CJ Malaya (as his HRH
then was) at page 136 expressed:
Where representations are made and are referred to the
Industrial Court for enquiry, it is the duty of that court to
determine whether the termination or dismissal is with or
without just cause or excuse. If the employer chooses to give
a reason for the action taken by him, the duty of the Industrial
Court will be to enquire whether the excuse or reason has orhas not been made out. If it finds as a fact that it has not been
proved, then the inevitable conclusion must be the termination
or dismissal was without just cause or excuse. The proper
enquiry of the court is the reason advanced by it and that court
or the High Court cannot go into another reason not relied on
by the employer or find one for it..
Evaluation of Evidence
[24] It is a principle of industrial jurisprudence that in a dismissal case,
the employer must produce convincing and cogent evidence that the
workman committed the offence or offences he is alleged to have
committed for which he has been dismissed. The onus of proof lies on
the Company and the standard that is required is on a balance of
probabilities.
[25] It was laid down in the case ofTelekom Malaysia Kawasan Utara
v. Krishnan Kutty Sanguni Nair & Anor [2002] 3 CLJ 314 that the
standard of proof is not beyond reasonable doubt in such cases of
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misconduct which are related to dishonest acts. At page 327 his
Lordship Abdul Hamid Mohamad JCA (as he then was) said:
Thus, we can see that the preponderant view is that the
Industrial Court, when hearing a claim of unjust dismissal,
even where the ground is one of dishonest act, including
theft, is not required to be satisfied beyond reasonable
doubt that the employee has committed the offence, as in a
criminal prosecution. On the other hand, we see that the
courts and learned authors have used such terms as solid
and sensible grounds, sufficient to measure up to a
preponderance of the evidence, whether a case has
been made out, on the balance of probabilities and
evidence of probative value. In our view the passage
quoted from Administrative Law by H.W.R. Wade & C.F.
Forsyth offers the clearest statement on the standard of proof
required, that is the civil standard based on the balance of
probabilities, which is flexible, so that the degree of
probability required is proportionate to the nature of gravity of
the issue..
[26] In the submission of learned counsel for the Claimant, he had
proposed and summarised the reasons for COW3's complaints against
the Claimant of which were:
(i) The Claimant had always assisted COW3 in getting the
chicken parts at a reduced price. Therefore, once he had
disposed the chicken parts to a third party at a higher price,
he then shared the profits with the Claimant and that was her
commission.
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(ii) The Claimant had assisted him in writing letters to Mr. Azami
who worked at the factory where the products and stocks
were collected, to obtain the stock at a reduced price and for
this assistance, once he sold the stock and received the
profit, he had paid her commission.
(iii) The Claimant had apparently given the tender of chicken
products and stock to another company and since he could
not get the tender, he had complained about her.
(iv) He had bought some goods from the Company at a reduced
price and he had supplied those goods to a company called
Beram & Co. but they had failed to pay him for the said
goods. COW3 lodged the complaint against the Claimant
because he thought she was involved.
[27] The Company is not required to prove the motives of COW3 for
complaining against the Claimant which had prompted the Company to
probe into the alleged misconduct which subsequently led to her
dismissal. The duty of this court is to enquire if the Company had made
out the excuse or reason for the Claimant's dismissal as stated in the
Federal Court case ofGoon Kwee Phoy v. J & P (M) Bhd, supra.
[28] It is not disputed that the Claimant was dismissed after the panel
of the Company's DI had found her guilty of the charges against her. In
this court, the previous learned Chairman had ruled that the DI was null
and void due to the defective charges preferred against the Claimant. It
is now incumbent upon this court to peruse the evidence adduced in this
hearing as to whether the misconduct has been proved by the Company
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and if the dismissal of the Claimant was for a just cause or excuse. It
must be emphasized that on the authority ofGoon KweePhoy's case
supra, her dismissal must be based on the reasons advanced by the
Company and those were the two (2) charges of misconduct against her
as alleged by the Company through COW3.
[29] This court has read the notes taken in the proceedings and noted
that all the Company's witnesses were subjected to lengthy cross-
examination, in particular COW3. COW3 was a customer of the
Company and used to obtain chicken parts such as offal meals, chicken
heads and chicken feet to feed the fish in his fish farm. He gave his
testimony in court with the aid of a Chinese interpreter and he had
spoken in the Hokkien dialect. However, there were many occasions
when he had replied either in broken English or Bahasa Malaysia, as
and when he felt comfortable. Aspersions were cast on him to discredit
his evidence that he had little formal education so he could not have
possibly written the deposit slips for the monies that were banked into
the Claimant's account. He did clarify that he knows and writes the
alphabet. From COW3's mannerism and conduct in court, the court
finds that he was not as ignorant or illiterate as he was perceived to be.
He was a businessman who knew how to get things done, in his own
ways.
[30] COW3 did not deny he was disappointed with the Company's
new administration when it decided on a tender basis for chicken parts
and he had failed to secure the tender. It was for this reason that he
had gone to see COW4 on 15 June 2006, a fact which COW4 admitted
in her witness statement that Mr. Chew came to see me at my office in
Kuala Lumpur to express his disappointment on his failure to secure the
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tender for purchase of offal meal with Ayamas Food Corporation Sdn
Bhd. It was also in that meeting that it was exposed that COW3 had
allegedly been paying the Claimant for whatever favours she had done
for him. It was alleged that he had been paying the Claimant for many
years so the first charge against the Claimant was for the period 1
January 1999 and May 2006 which was over a period of more than
seven (7) years. However, the details of the payments given were on 7
April 2004, 4 June 2004 and 1 July 2004 based on the deposit slips. It
is clear that it was well over two (2) years after the monies were
deposited into the account that COW3 decided to bring the matter up
with the Company's management. It is even clearer to the court that he
was disgruntled with the Company because he had failed to secure the
tender. He agreed in cross-examination that he did not lodge a written
complaint against the Claimant because he had no intention to complain
against her.
[31] Being a known customer of the Company which went back to his
late father's time, it appeared that COW3 was very familiar and
generous with the Company staff and senior management. In his
evidence in chief, he said that he used to give cash, sometimes
cheques, to people who helped him. In cross-examination, he admitted
that he had given oranges, hampers and lunch to the Company's staffduring Chinese New Year. In the Claimant's witness statement, she
claimed that COW3 had sent boxes of oranges to the staff and large
hampers to Dr. Kooi and COW4 and other senior management officers.
COW3 was also alleged to have given the staff lunch and taken some of
the male staff and senior management for karaoke sessions.
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[32] The Company has to prove that the Claimant had received
monetary reward for dealings with COW3's company on behalf of the
Company as stated in the first charge of which such practices were
improper, against the interest of the Company and in breach of
Company's rules, regulations and policies. In their witness statements
and in court, both COW1 and COW2 referred to what they had related
as witnesses in the DI. The reference to the DI notes was a futile
exercise because the DI had been held to be invalid so that evidence
does not carry any weight in this hearing. These witnesses had also
referred to the documents in COB in their witness statements but did not
give further evidence of their knowledge on the allegations against the
Claimant. Neither did they provide any Company rules, regulations and
policies which could tie down the Claimant or any other staff of any
practices that were considered improper. The report prepared by
COW1 on page 3 of COB contained an error on the date of the cheque
which was stated 28 May 2006 when it should have been 28 April
2006.
[33] The court is also in total agreement with the former learned
Chairman that the charges were defective. The first charge was
defective because the misconduct was alleged to have been committed
over a span of seven (7) years and yet, the payments alleged to havebeen paid to the Claimant were over four (4) months in 2004. The oral
complaint lodged by COW3 was in May 2006, a considerable lapse of
time of more than two (2) years after the alleged payments were made.
No reasons were proffered as to why he had chosen to remain silent but
made the alleged payments regularly to the Claimant. This puts his
credibility to test and the court has to be cautious in accepting his
evidence because there was no other evidence that corroborated or
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supported his evidence. The court finds that the only evidence against
the Claimant were the deposits allegedly paid into her account and
COW3's oral testimony in court. Since he was subjected to a lengthy
and intense cross-examination, he was not consistent in his answers
and gave conflicting replies, especially on the RM5,000.00 cheque and
whether it was for the payment of his insurance.
[34] COW3 had given various reasons why he had given the Claimant
money but the Company has failed to prove that it was within the
powers of the Claimant to do favours for COW3. The procedure for
disposing the excess offal set has already been explained earlier. The
Claimant had testified that she hardly saw COW3 because her office
was on the 2nd floor and the goods were collected by COW3 on the
ground floor. She agreed under cross-examination that communications
were mostly over the telephone and she had met customers including
COW3, once a week or a fortnight.
[35] It is obvious to this court that the investigations and actions taken
against the Claimant were hastily handled by the Company.
Considering the evidence of this case in its totality, the court finds that
the Company has not proved the first charge against the Claimant.
[36] On the second charge, the Claimant's explanation was consistent
from the time she was questioned by the Company on the RM5,000.00
Maybank cheque on 24 May 2006 until she testified in court. On the
insurance, COW3 had agreed that page 15 of COB was the official
receipt for his insurance cover. He also said he received the insurance
cover although he denied receiving the official receipt. The second
charge was related to the Maybank cheque which was dated 28 April
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2006. The receipt issued by Great Eastern was dated 29 May 2006 for
the amount of RM4,634.97 which was close to RM5,000.00. From the
evidence of COW3, the Claimant and CLW2 the court is satisfied with
the Claimant's explanation that the cheque payment for the amount of
RM5,000.00 was for paying the insurance cover of COW3.
[37] As in the first charge, the Claimant faced the second charge that
between the period of 1 January 2006 and May 2006 she had
accepted a further monetary reward for dealings from COW3. There
was no evidence adduced that the Claimant had received the monetary
reward during that period of time for dealings that she had with COW3's
Company on behalf of the Company. Having so found, the court rules
that the second charge against the Claimant has not been proved either.
In arriving at this decision, this court has taken into consideration section
30 (5) of the Act and acted with equity, good conscience and the
substantial merits of the case without regard to technicalities and legal
form.
Findings and Remedy
[38] Since the Company has failed to prove the misconduct alleged to
have been committed by the Claimant in both of the charges, it meansthat the ensuing dismissal of the Claimant was without just cause or
excuse. The court opines that reinstatement would not be an
appropriate remedy since the Claimant has been dismissed for more
than six (6) years and it is not in the best interest of the Company or the
Claimant to order as such. The Claimant said she had not been able to
find a permanent job since her dismissal due to her age (50 on the date
of dismissal) but she had held temporary jobs and Tupperware parties.
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7/29/2019 SEK 20 AWARD 18281
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3(28)(3)(24)/4-329/08
The Company did not bring in any evidence of the Claimant's post
dismissal earnings.
[39] Having considered the above, the court hereby makes the
following orders:
Back wages @ RM3,500.00
(being the Claimant's last drawn pay)
x 24 months : RM84,000.00
Compensationin lieu of
reinstatement @ RM3,500.00
x 24 (for each year of service) : RM84,000.00
---------------------
Total : RM168,000.00============
[40] Accordingly, the Company is to pay the Claimant the total sum
after deducting the necessary statutory deductions, if any, through her
solicitors Messrs Vinod Kamalanathan & Associates within 30 days from
the date of this award.
HANDED DOWN AND DATED THIS 18 DAY OF JANUARY 2013
...
( ANNA NG FUI CHOO )CHAIRMAN
INDUSTRIAL COURT, MALAYSIA
KUALA LUMPUR
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