A three-man bench chaired by Mohd Zawawi Salleh said the court had difficulty determining who was the principal person the two men was alleged to have deceived.

Zawawi, who sat with Kamardin Hashim and Rhodzariah Bujang, said the bench was left with no choice but to agree with the High Court as the intention to commit the crime was not proven beyond reasonable doubt.

“After going through the evidence, we find the two were careless in making the claims but the element of deceiving the principal was not proven,” he said.

The principal is said to be an assistant district officer of Sabak Bernam.

Zawawi, however, advised those making claims from the government to be careful and follow procedures.

The Sessions Court in 2012 found Rahman, now 53, guilty of making eight counts of false claims amounting to RM10,000 each for events that never took place.

Rosli, now 50, was found guilty of abetting Abdul Rahman in committing the offences.

Both were sentenced to six years’ jail and fined RM400,000 each.

Among the claims were for the purchase of prizes and souvenirs and organising receptions for motivational programmes for students, people-friendly programmes and a Family Day, forum and Prophet Muhammad’s birthday celebration in his constituency.

The offences were committed at the Sabak Bernam District Office between Jan 21 and Feb 12, 2008.

The charges were framed under Section 11(c) of the Anti Corruption Act 1997 which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and fine not less than five times the sum or value of the gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

However, in 2016, High Court judge Ghazali Cha reversed the convictions which led to the government’s appeal.

Lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah appeared for Rahman and Rosli while government lawyer Tengku Intan Suraya Tengku Ismail appeared for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, formerly known as ACA.