Rohaiza Alika Roslan, 36, and Nur Massuri Zainuddin, 39, broke into tears in the dock soon after Court of Appeal judge Azman Abdullah set aside their conviction and sentence.

The duo had been on bail pending the outcome of their appeal.

Justices P Ravinthran and Hashim Hamzah were also on the panel, which heard the appeal on Jan 16.

Delivering a unanimous decision today, Azman said there was a gap in the chain of evidence linking the duo to the alleged act of embezzlement.

“There is evidence that others were involved in handling the money,” he said.

Both women were charged with criminal breach of trust involving RM113,884.54 belonging to the management of Idaman Apartment in Petaling Jaya. The money was collected from apartment owners for the maintenance of the property.

They were alleged to have committed the offence between Jan 1 and May 31, 2015.

Nur Massuri was found guilty by the sessions court and sentenced to three years’ jail, while Rohaiza was acquitted on Oct 18, 2019.

Following an appeal by the prosecution, the High Court substituted Rohaiza’s acquittal with a guilty verdict. She was also sentenced to three years in jail.

The same High Court also dismissed Nur Massuri’s appeal and affirmed the findings of the sessions court.

Lawyer R Muniandy and Edwin Johnson Navis represented Nur Massuri today, while Azizul Shariman Mat Yusoff and Nurain Shahiera Khalid appeared for Rohaiza.

Deputy public prosecutors Azmi Mashud and Khairul Aisamuddin Abdul Rahman represented the prosecution.