Kota Kinabalu: The High Court here dismissed the appeal by a 51-year-old woman against her conviction and four-year jail sentence for cheating her business partner of RM312,900 over purported government tenders.
Judge Datuk Maslinda @ Linda Mohd Ainal upheld the conviction and sentence imposed by the Magistrate’s Court on Dayang Sariah Ratman.
In delivering her decision, the Judge held that the conviction was safe and did not warrant any interference by the High Court.
“The court finds that the conviction is safe and this appeal does not warrant interference. Therefore, the decision and sentence imposed by the Magistrate is maintained and the appeal is dismissed,” she ruled.
Sariah had appealed against her conviction and sentence after she was found guilty at the end of the defence case.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sofia S. Sawayan submitted that the Magistrate had correctly evaluated both the law and the evidence before finding the appellant guilty of the offence under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
She urged the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the conviction and sentence imposed by the magistrate.
Sariah managed to obtain a stay of execution of the sentence pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
On May 3, 2024, the Magistrate’s Court found Sariah guilty after a full trial of cheating her business partner, Su Nget Yung, into handing over RM312,900 purportedly to secure tenders for the supply of cooked food to school dormitories and cleaning services for school compounds under the State Education Department.
The offence was committed in Putatan between July 6, 2018 and April 19, 2019.
The charge under Section 420 of the Penal Code carries a jail term of between one and 10 years, whipping and a fine on conviction.
The Magistrate’s Court sentenced her to four years’ jail from the date of conviction but she managed to obtain a stay of execution of the sentence pending an appeal to the High Court.
The prosecution called eight witnesses while the defence called one witness during the trial.
Sariah was represented by counsel Mohd Luqman Syazwan Zabidi.
