PETALING JAYA: After a long legal tussle with Protasco Bhd, its former director Datuk Larry Tey Por Yee (pix) and his associate Datuk Adrian Ooi Kock Aun have been acquitted by the Shah Alam High Court.
Tey and Ooi were previously charged in connection with Protasco’s acquisition of 76% equity interest in PT Anglo Slavic Indonesia (PT ASI) for US$55 million (RM224.4 million).
The charges were premised on the allegations that both Tey and Ooi had breached their fiduciary and statutory duties, including the duty to disclose their interest in the transaction, conspiracy to defraud the company and the making of secret profits.
“Indeed, I am very grateful to the Malaysian judiciary system as it has now come to an end and we get to clear our names. We want to move on with peace of mind and will be focusing on expanding our businesses thereon,” Tey said in a statement released over the weekend.
In the statement, Tey and Ooi thanked the parties who had remained with them throughout the legal battle, including staff members, family and friends, legal counsel, banks, customers and associates.
The acquittal decision was made last Saturday (March 30) following the representation letter and application in court made by Tey and Ooi’s counsel since last year, Datuk Vignesh Kumar.
To recap, Tey and Ooi were sued on allegations of criminal breach of trust due to the non-disclosure of interest in the acquisition of PT Anglo Slavic Indonesia.
Tey was charged under Section 420 and 181 of the Penal Code for cheating and making false statements to a Commissioner for Oaths on Jan 15, 2016.
Ooi, who was charged under the same section on Feb 3, 2016, was also charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code for criminal breach of trust.
However, both were granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal by the sessions court in September 2017. A year later, Protasco requested the Attorney-General’s Chambers to reopen cases against the duo.
