KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here today ordered Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng to pay RM2 million to MonSpace (M) Sdn Bhd founder Datuk Seri Jessy Lai and the company for defamation.
Judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir made the decision after allowing a suit by Lai and MonSpace as the plaintiffs against Lim, as the defendant.
Akhtar ordered the defendant to pay a sum of RM500,000 and RM1 million respectively to Lai and the company, as well as aggravated damages of RM500,000 to both the plaintiffs, besides costs of RM250,000.
The judge also ordered the defendant to make a public apology in all vernacular newspapers as well as social media within seven days after the judgment was perfected.
In his brief judgment, Akhtar said the court found that the plaintiffs had proven their claims against the defendant for defamation and that his statements also tarnished the image and reputation of the plaintiffs.
He further said that in the statement of claim, the plaintiff had mentioned five instances in the statements made by the defendant that were contended to be defamatory.
The judge said the defendant did not deny making the statements nor the publication and it was also clear from the statements that it referred to both the plaintiffs.
"The statements clearly connote that the plaintiffs had bribed senior government officials and carried out illegal activities as well as cheated 19 Chinese nationals,” he said when delivering today’s decision via Zoom.
Akhtar also pointed out that the defendant should have stopped at making the necessary reports to the enforcement agency for them to fully investigate the allegations.
“Instead, in the court’s view, the defendant had gone beyond his duty, not only as an MP, even as a person and acted like a vigilante against the plaintiffs in making these accusations. The defendant should have verified the facts before making such serious accusations.
“In this case, the defendant did not call any witnesses who were alleged to be the source of his information.
“As the MP, it was his duty to verify information. Not only as an MP – you must verify information even as a normal person. The defendant as the MP especially cannot be trigger-happy and shoot from the hip,” he said.
Akhtar said the court also noted that the defendant took to the streets with the 19 Chinese nationals to protest against the plaintiffs.
“This was also unwarranted...the defendant was given an opportunity to redeem himself and during the case management of this case, the plaintiffs only asked for an apology to be made but the defendant failed to do that,” he added.
In the suit filed in June 2019, Lai said Lim claimed that she was running an illegal business and had cheated Chinese investors. The MP’s statements, published in the English and Chinese media, had implied that she was a dishonest person.
She said Lim had made the statements in May 2017 and November 2018 when he took a group of individuals, purportedly MonSpace’s investors, to her office and subsequently lodged police reports against her.
She claimed that Lim’s statements had pressured the authorities, including police, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, to take action against her.
Lawyer Ivanpal Singh Grewal, represented Lai and the company while counsel Guok Ngek Seong acted for Lim.
Meanwhile, Lim has filed an appeal over today’s decision. – Bernama, March 16, 2023
