Judicial commissioner Yusrin Faidz Yusoff, however, suspended the duo’s custodial sentence for two months to allow AlphaCapital (M) Bhd’s directors, Syed Mahadzir Fadaak Syed Jamil Fadaak and Erna Elliyana Rosli, time to comply with his directives.
Yusrin also fined them RM10,000 each, to be paid within seven days.
He ordered them to pay RM10,000 in costs jointly or severally to the 64 plaintiffs.
In his oral ruling, the judge said he was not inclined to let the duo off with a mere fine after taking into account the circumstances of the case in totality.
“The concealment of material information over an extended period and the strategic nature of the non-disclosure demand a stern response,” he said.
Earlier, Syed Mahadzir and Erna apologised for their failure to comply with the order, claiming they were still awaiting information from their company’s auditors.
However, lawyer Sachpreetraj Singh, appearing for the plaintiffs, contended that the duo were only expressing their regret after being found guilty of contempt on June 6.
The duo had refused to comply with two court orders made in September and November last year.
Syed Mahadzir and Erna were ordered to disclose all assets – including bank accounts, shares, and subsidiary holdings – to the court, and reveal how investor funds were used, including where and how the plaintiffs’ money was invested prior to the filing of the suit.
However, they only complied partially with the order, disclosing the purchase of 13 luxury vehicles but failing to account for the bulk of the RM100 million in investments that appeared to have been dissipated.
The 64 investors filed their suit against AlphaCapital last year, accusing the company of breach of contract involving a collective sum of RM19,831,440.50 after it failed to pay monthly dividend returns.
According to Sachpreetraj, his clients discovered after the suit was filed that the two directors had led a lavish lifestyle, and had purchased several luxury cars despite the business purportedly suffering losses.
In September, the investors sought a Mareva injunction to restrain them from disposing of any assets pending the resolution of the civil suit.
Simran Kaur appeared with Sachpreetraj while M Ganesh represented Syed Mahadzir and Erna.