Gopal Sri Ram JCA:

[1] The appellant was, until his dismissal, a member of the national education service. He was employed as the headmaster of a National Type Chinese Primary School, at Simpang Rengam in the State of Johor. The facts leading up to and upon which, his dismissal was based are important. I shall therefore go into them in some detail here:

[2] The appellant was, as I have said, the headmaster of a school. He was in that capacity entrusted with a sum of RM3,179.00 belonging to the Johore Education Department ("the Department"). This sum constituted the unpaid salary of the school's gardener who had not turned up for work for several months. Under the relevant financial regulations that governed the duties of the appellant, he was obliged to return this sum of money to the Department. He failed to do so. When the Department asked for the return of the money, he told them that it had been sent to them. That was not correct. He had in fact not sent the money across. But in fairness to him it must be said that he had not used any part of it. He had merely kept it with him. Eventually he did send the money to the Department.Because he retained the money he was charged