Presumption of guilt imposed on some individuals under certain legislations, namely Section 122(1) of the Securities Industry Act (SIA), is constitutional, the Federal Court ruled last week.

In a landmark judgment in the case of Public Prosecutor v Gan Boon Aun (Transmile chief executive officer), Justice Jeffrey Tan Kok Wha stated that the presumption and "reverse onus clause" are not prohibited by Article 5 of the Federal Constitution which deals with liberty of a person.