PUTRAJAYA, June 19 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), its officers, and the Malaysian government have succeeded in overturning a High Court ruling that held them liable for the tort of malicious prosecution against a former company director and awarded him damages.
A three-member Court of Appeal bench comprising Justices Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli, Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid, and Datuk Nadzarin Wok Nordin unanimously allowed the appeals and set aside the High Court’s decisions dated August 25, 2023, on liability and May 28, 2024, on the quantum of damages awarded to Nik Mohd Suhaimi Ahmad Ghazali.
Delivering the court’s unanimous decision online, Justice Kamal ruled that the tort of malicious prosecution applies only to cases involving the abuse of civil process and does not apply to criminal investigations or proceedings.
"We find that the legal approach taken by the learned High Court judge in extending the tort of malicious process or abuse of civil process to criminal proceedings is unsustainable and inconsistent with prevailing legal developments in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth jurisdictions," he said.
The bench also ruled that there was no legal basis for imposing liability on MACC under the tort of malicious process, particularly after the High Court had dismissed Suhaimi’s separate claim for malicious prosecution.
Justice Kamal noted that although the High Court found, on a balance of probabilities, that Suhaimi had established claims involving wrongful imprisonment, arrest, and harassment, his claim for malicious prosecution had not succeeded.
Any allegation involving abuse of criminal proceedings falls within the scope of the tort of malicious prosecution rather than malicious process.
The Court of Appeal also ordered Suhaimi to pay RM90,000 in costs.
At the same time, it struck out his cross-appeal challenging the dismissal of his malicious prosecution claim on the grounds that it was incompetent, and dismissed Suhaimi's appeal seeking a higher award for damages.
He had previously filed a civil suit alleging false imprisonment, wrongful arrest, and harassment against MACC and its officers, while also pursuing a claim of malicious prosecution against the Public Prosecutor.
Suhaimi claimed that he had been investigated for alleged bribery, arrested at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya, and later brought to the commission’s office in Kuantan, Pahang.
He was allegedly harassed, threatened, intimidated, and pressured to plead guilty. Suhaimi also alleged that he was handcuffed and brought before the Sessions Court on forgery charges before later being paraded to the media.
The Sessions Court subsequently acquitted and discharged him without calling for his defence. Although the prosecution initially filed an appeal, it was later withdrawn.
On August 25, 2023, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled in Suhaimi's favour on liability and later awarded RM900,000 in damages on May 28, 2024.
However, despite finding that his arrest, detention, and prosecution on March 19, 2014, were lawful, the High Court held that the adverse publicity he suffered damaged his life and reputation.
Senior Federal Counsel Liew Horng Bin and Siti Syakimah Ibrahim appeared for MACC and eight other respondents, while Suhaimi was represented by lawyers Datuk R. Kamalanathan and Vinod Kamalanathan.
