TRIPLC MEDICAL SDN. BHD. v 1. ) ZAIDI BIN MOHAMED NOR 2. ) NOR AZHAR BIN HAMZAH PIHAK TERKILAN 1. ) Wong Chun Lun 2. ) Hasmah Binti Yahaya 3. ) Zaidi Bin Mohamed Nor
13 cases cited
(0 SG, 13 foreign)
Catchwords
Civil Procedure – Locus standi – Breach of fiduciary duty by employee – Whether plaintiff has standing to sue where contracts were with related company – Employer has standing to sue own employee for breach of fiduciary duties regardless of which subsidiary signed contract – Privity of contract and separate legal entity principles not applicable to fiduciary claims. Equity – Fiduciary duties – Secret profits – Senior employee receiving payments from contractors – Whether payments constitute secret profits or bribes – Definition of bribe in civil law – Secret commission paid to agent without principal's knowledge – Fiduciary holds bribe on constructive trust for principal regardless of source of funds. Equity – Accessory liability – Dishonest assistance – Third party allowing bank account to be used as conduit – Issuing false invoices – Whether liable as accessory – Knowing receipt and dishonest assistance – Royal Brunei Airlines v Tan principles applied. Evidence – Witnesses – Hostile witness – Declaration under s 154 Evidence Act 1950 – Inconsistent testimony – Contemporaneous audio recording contradicting oral evidence – Court entitled to reject oral testimony and prefer contemporaneous recording. Evidence – Adverse inference – Failure to produce evidence – s 114(g) Evidence Act 1950 – Defendant failing to produce bank statements or call wife as witness – Inference that evidence would be unfavourable to defendant. Damages – Equitable compensation – Secret profits – Disgorgement – Whether equitable remedy sufficient – Punitive, exemplary and aggravated damages – Claim dismissed where equitable compensation already fully restores principal and acts as deterrent – Clean hands doctrine – Claimant seeking penal remedies must come with clean hands –selective enforcement of grievance disentitles claimant to punitive damages – Missing items – Electronic items distributed to third parties – Verification with recipients – Items received by plaintiff's own employees exempted from claim – Plaintiff failed to explain why no disciplinary action taken against own staff who received items. Illegality – Ex dolo malo non oritur actio – Whether plaintiff seeking to enforce illegal contract – Plaintiff recovering secret profits from fiduciary – No illegality in principal recovering bribes from errant fiduciary – Reading v A-G applied – Merong Mahawangsa distinguished.
Practice Areas
Judges (1)
Counsel (9)
CK Lim Law Chambers Firm Saifuz & Co Firm Zamri Idrus & Co Firm Chin Yan Leng Counsel Plaintiff Lim Choon Khim Counsel Plaintiff Mohd Zamri bin Mohd Idrus Counsel Defendant Saifuzzaman Bin Ab Rahman Counsel Defendant Sharifah Dyana Baizura Binti Syed Azmi Ahmad Counsel Defendant Yeoh Yao Huang Counsel Plaintiff
Statutes Cited
Evidence Act 1950 (Cap 56)
Cases Cited (13)
UK (6)
[1897] AC 22 [1949] 2 All ER 573 [1951] AC 507 [1964] AC 1129 [1994] 1 AC 324 [1995] 2 AC 378
MY (7)
[1968] 1 MLJ 170 [2008] 5 MLJ 469 [2014] 3 CLJ 1 [2015] 8 CLJ 212 [2019] 6 CLJ 516 [2019] 6 CLJ 722 [2026] 1 MLJ 489
Judgment
Read the full judgment on the official Malaysia Courts portal.
Read on eJudgmentSource: eJudgment (wa-22ncc-128-03-2022)