KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): The Kuala Lumpur High Court has allowed an appeal by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and increased the jail sentence for former Transmile Group Bhd’s CEO and executive director, Gan Boon Aun, from one day to two years.

Gan remains at large.

In a statement on Tuesday (Jan 25), the capital market regulator said the High Court also upheld the initial fine of RM2.5 million imposed by the Sessions Court on Aug 27, 2020.

“The High Court Judge, Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan observed that, from the efforts made by the SC to execute the warrant of arrest against Gan, he has been evading arrest, thus failing to attend the hearing of the appeal,” the SC said.

Gan was convicted for furnishing a misleading statement, with intent to deceive, relating to Transmile’s revenue in the company’s Quarterly Report on Unaudited Consolidated Results for the Financial Year ended Dec 31, 2006.

According to the SC, the misleading statement on the revenue amount comprised over RM333 million of fictitious sales. Gan’s conviction is under Section 122B read together with Section 122(1) of the Securities Industry Act 1983.

“Gan remains at large and the SC is requesting members of the public who may know of his whereabouts to come forward to assist the SC in locating Gan,” it said.

Transmile was caught in an accounting scandal in 2007 after auditors concluded that the air cargo service provider's results for the financial years ended December 2005 and 2006 were grossly overstated.

Transmile suffered losses of RM126.3 million instead of making a profit of RM157.5 million in 2006.

In 2005, it chalked up losses totalling RM369.6 million instead of the RM84.4 million profit that was reported.

It was later categorised as a Practice Note 17 (PN17) company in 2010, and was eventually suspended and delisted from the local bourse in 2011.