KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has dismissed an appeal by a former bank manager against his dismissal over the disappearance of a pressure cooker from the bank’s storeroom.
In grounds of judgment dated Sept 7, judge Alice Loke Yee Ching upheld the Industrial Court’s finding that the dismissal of K. Gopala Krishna, 55, was with just cause and excuse.
Loke said the Industrial Court had thoroughly assessed the evidence before finding that there were grounds to dismiss Gopala.
“There is no failure to judicially appreciate the evidence.
“The conclusion of the Industrial Court was supported by the evidence before it.
“Its decision cannot be said to be plainly wrong so as to warrant an interference of this court,” she said.
Loke ordered Gopala to pay RM3,000 in costs to the bank.
Gopala joined the bank in August 2019 as a team lead in its group retail banking department before later becoming a manager in the same department.
The case arose after a pressure cooker went missing from the retail collections and recovery service partner storeroom on Nov 5, 2020.
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showed Gopala leaving the storeroom on Oct 30, 2020, carrying a box inside a black garbage bag. He was suspected of removing the pressure cooker.
He was served with a notice of suspension on Dec 1, 2020.
In a notice of intended disciplinary action dated Jan 7, 2021, the bank informed him that a review of CCTV footage recorded between Oct 9 and Nov 5, 2020, had led to allegations of misconduct over the missing pressure cooker.
Gopala maintained that the box contained his personal belongings.
On Nov 25, 2020, an anonymous sender returned a box to the bank by courier. A pressure cooker was found inside.
On Jan 25, 2021, the bank’s group disciplinary committee decided to dismiss Gopala over the theft.
In a letter dated Jan 26, 2021, the committee said his conduct amounted to serious misconduct and raised considerable doubts about his honesty and integrity, which amounts to an abuse of his position of trust.
It said the bank could no longer repose trust and confidence in him to perform his duties honestly and with integrity. His dismissal took effect on the same day.
His representations on his dismissal were then referred by the Director General to the Industrial Court for adjudication.
On Oct 22, 2024, the Industrial Court found the bank had discharged its burden of proving theft by Gopala of the pressure cooker, on a balance of probabilities and ruled that his dismissal was not without just cause and excuse.
Loke said the Industrial Court took into consideration CCTV evidence of Gopala being seen exiting the storeroom carrying a black plastic bag containing a box similar in size to the box containing the pressure cooker which was returned.
The footage did not show anyone else entering the storeroom and removing a box of a similar size between Oct 9 and Nov 5, 2020.
The Industrial Court also noted that Gopala had admitted carrying a brown box containing his personal belongings out of the storeroom on Oct 30, 2020.
He claimed he had found the box in the storeroom and decided to use it, placing it inside a black garbage bag.
He had failed to provide a satisfactory explanation during an internal audit interview on Nov 26, 2020, and a meeting on Dec 18, 2020, or adequately refute the allegations in his written reply to the disciplinary notice dated Jan 7, 2021.