Justice Radzi Abdul Hamid, who read the broad grounds of the unanimous decision, said Lam Chang Nam was not prejudiced in his defence when the charge had included Section 511 of the Penal Code to a charge under Section 385, which covers attempted extortion.

He said that Section 511 was merely a punishment provision, while Section 385 of the Penal Code defined the principal offence.

Radzi said the trial magistrate’s conviction was also safe after evaluating all the evidence.

“The RM7,000 fine is reasonable, as Section 385 imposes a jail term of up to seven years, a fine, whipping, or any two of these punishments,” he said.

Justice Azman Abdullah chaired the bench, while the other member was Justice Amarjeet Singh.

Lam, 39, had paid the fine three years ago.

On March 24, 2023, the Petaling Jaya magistrates’ court found Lam guilty of attempting to extort RM30,000 from Koh’s son, allegedly in exchange for his father’s release.

The court ordered him to pay a fine of RM7,000, or serve 18 months’ imprisonment in default.

The offence took place at a shopping mall in Kelana Jaya, Selangor, at 9.46pm on March 6, 2017.

Lam’s appeal against the conviction and sentence was dismissed by the Shah Alam High Court on May 30 last year, prompting him to take the case to the Court of Appeal.

Lam was represented by lawyer M Manoharan, while deputy public prosecutor Fuad Abdul Aziz appeared for the prosecution.