A three-member bench chaired by Justice Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera heard the final appeal of the duo, retired policeman Rashid Mahmud and Roseaini Johor.
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In the appeal the court was asked to consider whether it was an offence under the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 for an owner or occuper to allow his premises, which did not house any physical gaming machines, to be used for online gaming.
After hearing submissions by parties and going through the High Court’s judgment, Vazeer said that there was no necessity under the law for gaming machines to be located on the premises.
He said it was sufficient for the prosecution to show that gambling had taken place using computers for an offence to have been committed.
We therefore answer the question in the negative and dismiss the appeals,” said Vazeer, who sat with Justices Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and SM Komathy.
Rashid, 62, is not required to serve any sentence as the High Court raised his fine to RM5,000 and quashed the jail term last year following an appeal. He had paid the fine.
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However, the Court of Appeal issued a warrant of committal against Roseaini, 39, to serve a prison term of four months and three weeks.
Before a magistrate in Melaka in 2020, Rashid was fined RM3,000 and ordered to serve a month in jail while Roseaini, who hails from Sabah, was fined RM10,000 and ordered to serve a five-month jail term.
Following an appeal, the High Court had reduced Roseaini’s fine to RM5,000 but maintained the jail term. She had served five days in prison before she was freed on bail pending the outcome of today’s appeal.
Since the matter originated from the magistrates’ court, the duo obtained leave from the Court of Appeal by framing a legal question.
Rashid was charged with playing a roulette game on an online casino using a laptop at a condominium in Jalan Syed Abdul Aziz in Melaka with nine others who are still at large on Dec 11, 2017.
The Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 states that an offence is committed if eight or more people are caught gambling in a place. Those found guilty could be fined up to RM5,000, sentenced to six months’ jail, or both, under Section 6(1).
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Meanwhile, Roseaini was charged with managing the site where the offence had been committed, and for having 26 laptops under her control. This offence is punishable under Section 4(1) of the Act, which allows for a fine of up to RM50,000 and a maximum jail term of three years.
Lawyer Rafique Rashid Ali said Rashid could only run afoul of the law if there was a roulette wheel, roulette ball and roulette staking board at the location as required under the Second Schedule of the Act.
However, deputy public prosecutor Nahra Dollah submitted that the definition of gaming machine means any mechanical, electrical or electronic machine or device, including any computer programme used in such machine or device.
She added the laptops that were used for online gambling were therefore considered as machines.
