NFCorp wins appeal against Public Bank confidentiality breach

PUTRAJAYA – National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp), its executive chairman Datuk Mohamad Salleh Ismail and its two subsidiaries today won their appeal in a civil suit they had filed against Public Bank Bhd for breach of contract to protect their bank account confidentiality.

Justice Datuk S. Nantha Balan, who delivered the unanimous decision of the Court of Appeal three-member panel, said there was a serious misappreciation of evidence which warranted appellate intervention on the judges’ part. 

The panel, which also included Justices Datuk Azizah Nawawi and Datuk P. Ravinthran Balan, ordered Public Bank to pay RM500,000 in costs.

Justice Nantha Balan said in the case before the Appellate court, the trial judge had ignored vital evidence.

“That evidence in particular is the testimony of the bank’s Head of Investigation Audit Veronica Foo before the bank’s domestic inquiry panel and indeed the bank’s stance vis-à-vis the charge of serious misconduct against a clerical staff of the bank, Johari Mohamed, which is a breach of Section 97(1)of the Banking and Financial institutions Act (BAFIA) 1989.

“We therefore allow the appeal on liability in respect of all the appellants,” he said.

However, the bench said since the appellants have succeeded on liability but have failed to prove damages, the court awarded a sum of RM10,000 in nominal damages.

During today’s proceeding, NFCorp, Mohamad Salleh and the two companies were represented by Tan Sri Muhamad Shafee Abdullah while lawyer Poh Choo Hoe appeared for Public Bank.

In the court’s ruling, Justice Nantha Balan said the trial judge took a wrong turn in treating the domestic inquiry notes of proceeding (NOP) as being irrelevant to the issues at the trial. 

“By doing so, the judge misdirected herself because the domestic inquiry NOP were obtained by the appellants after a heavily contested application for discovery. 

“The issue of relevancy of domestic inquiry notes of proceedings was res judicata, and it was erroneous for the bank to object to appellants’ counsel making reference to the NOP and for the judge to have rejected it as being irrelevant,” he said.

Justice Nantha Balan further said the thrust of the appellants’ case at the high court is that the person who leaked the confidential information was Johari, who was at all material times a clerk at Public Bank Jinjang branch and was asked to attend to matters related to credit work.

“Johari used this opportunity to get into the bank’s IBM Mainframe and downloaded and printed the appellants’ related documents and the CCTV footage showed that he put the printed documents in an envelope and kept it in his drawer and took it with him when he left the office on 16 February 2012.

“The domestic inquiry panel was convinced that Johari had committed the acts of misconduct and found him guilty of the said charge,” he said.

On July 29, 2019, the high court dismissed the lawsuit brought by NFCorp, Salleh and two subsidiaries namely National Meat and Livestock Corporation Sdn Bhd, Agroscience Industries Sdn Bhd against the bank.

On May 22, 2012, NFCorp, Salleh and the two subsidiary companies filed the suit against Public Bank over breach of contract to protect their bank account confidentiality.

The suit alleged that the bank had breached confidentiality by allowing details of banking transactions to be revealed by the then PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli (now economy minister).

They also claimed that their business reputation and credibility had suffered irreparable loss and damage as a result of the security breach under BAFIA by the bank. – Bernama, August 30, 2023