KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 — The Industrial Court has ordered BFM Media Sdn Bhd to pay former producer and presenter Umapagan Ampikaipakan RM358,400 after ruling that the radio station failed to prove the misconduct allegations used to justify his dismissal in 2019.

While the allegations against Umapagan were serious, Industrial Court chairman Pravin Kaur Jessy found that BFM had not proved the alleged misconduct on the balance of probabilities, The Edge Malaysia reported yesterday.

BFM had accused Umapagan of sexual harassment and other misconduct, including sending explicit messages, making inappropriate remarks and engaging in unwanted physical contact. He denied the allegations.

In a 98-page judgment, Pravin found shortcomings in both the charges and the evidence relied upon by the company, including a lack of specific dates and names in some allegations and the absence of original message exchanges.

She said an employer was required to prove the misconduct as charged rather than rely on a broader impression of an employee’s behaviour.

“This court cannot permit a vague charge to be cured by evidential accretion after the event. The company was required to prove the misconduct as charged, not a general impression that the claimant was tactile or overly familiar,” she said.

Pravin said that, taken as a whole, BFM’s case had fallen short despite the gravity of the accusations.

“Having considered the evidence in its entirety, the court is driven to one conclusion. The company’s case, though grave in allegation, was not made good in proof,” she said.

She added that too many of the allegations were imprecise, uncertain in attribution, inadequately documented or insufficiently tested.

“Suspicion may have justified inquiry. Concern may have justified caution. But neither suspicion nor concern can take the place of proof.

“On the evidence before it, the court is not satisfied that the misconduct relied upon has been established on a balance of probabilities,” she said.

Umapagan had argued that his dismissal was without just cause or excuse and alleged that it was made in bad faith, amounted to victimisation and constituted an unfair labour practice.

BFM maintained that the dismissal was justified.

According to The Edge Malaysia, the parties also disputed when Umapagan began working for the station. He said he had been employed there since 2009, while BFM said he joined in April 2014.

BFM also disputed his claim of having an unblemished employment record, citing a previous warning over inappropriate communication with an intern.

The company said two external lawyers familiar with Malaysian employment law had carried out an independent investigation into the allegations and that management did not interfere with the process.

Umapagan was issued a show-cause letter on December 24, 2018, and dismissed on January 4, 2019.

With reinstatement no longer an option, the court accepted April 2014 as his starting date for the purpose of calculating compensation.

It awarded him RM51,200 in compensation in lieu of reinstatement, equivalent to one month’s salary of RM12,800 for each of four completed years of service.

He was also awarded RM307,200 in back wages, representing the maximum 24 months permitted under the Second Schedule of the Industrial Relations Act 1967.

The awards totalled RM358,400.