MR says High Court ruling is a relief after lengthy trial
KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysia Rugby (MR) staff member Murni Azlina Yurdeksi has been ordered by the High Court to pay RM4.9 million in damages to the national body.
In its ruling on March 4, the court found Murni Azlina liable for breach of trust, fraud and conversion, and ordered her to pay RM4,923,468.07 within 14 days.
An annual interest of five per cent was to apply from March 13, 2023, until the full amount is paid. The court also dismissed a counterclaim filed by Murni Azlina and ordered her to pay RM30,000 in legal costs.
MR honorary secretary Fahmy Jalil said the decision brought relief after a lengthy trial and that the union could now focus on its administrative affairs.
"The civil suit is over, but the criminal suit is still ongoing. We are glad the civil case is settled and hope to recover the funds, though it will be tough if she is declared bankrupt," said Fahmy.
"The new MR executive committee has moved on from the missing funds. It was tough to run programmes without the money, but we have managed to raise funds and continued with what we had."
In 2022, MR discovered that a substantial sum of money was allegedly siphoned from its bank account by an administrative staff member.
It is alleged that the staff member, who handled MR's accounts, had forged the signatures of both the MR president and treasurer to make cash withdrawals dating back to 2019.
Fahmy said MR had since strengthened its financial procedures to prevent similar incidents.
"We used to have four bank accounts, but we've closed three and now only maintain one. We've also reduced cheque usage and switched to online banking, which allows for better monitoring of our funds," he said.
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