KUALA LUMPUR: Former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng told the High Court on Tuesday (Aug 14) that allegations about the arrest of his son at Singapore Changi Airport four years ago, spread by blogger Papagomo, have been denied by former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador.
Lim, 64, said that Abdul Hamid, on March 14, 2020, had confirmed that Papagomo's claim, whose real name is Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, about his son Clint Lim Way Chau being arrested for bringing RM2mil into Singapore without proper declaration, was false.
"The IGP refuted the claim that my son was detained by Singaporean authorities. He also denied the allegation that I went to Singapore airport to intervene on my son's behalf. He confirmed it as fake news," Lim said.
The Bagan Member of Parliament said this when questioned by his lawyer, Simon Murali, in the defamation suit filed by Lim and his son against Wan Muhammad Azri for claiming that Way Chau brought RM2mil into Singapore without proper declaration.
Meanwhile, when questioned by lawyer, Logen Eskandar Abdullah, who represented Wan Muhammad Azri, Lim insisted that he was not in Singapore on the day of the incident, as alleged.
Logen asked, "The failure of YB (Lim) to attach the passport as evidence shows that YB is trying to hide the fact that you went to Singapore on Feb 29, 2020?"
Lim replied, "It is not true at all Your Honour. This is because my passport has been submitted to the court regarding my corruption case."
On Oct 15, 2020, Lim and his son filed a suit claiming that the defendant had posted a purported defamatory statement on his Facebook page, alleging that the second plaintiff (Way Chau) was hauled up at the Singapore Changi Airport on Feb 29, 2020, for bringing in RM2mil cash without proper declaration.
According to the former Minister of Finance, the defendant, who posted on Facebook under the name 'Papa Azri' on March 14, 2020, claimed that he (Lim) went to Singapore on Feb 29 of the same year, after his son was arrested at Changi Airport.
The hearing, before Judicial Commissioner Eddie Yeo Soon Chye, continues on Wednesday (Aug 14). - Bernama
