PUTRAJAYA: Kepong Member of Parliament Lim Lip Eng has been ordered to pay RM75,000 instead of the RM2mil in damages originally awarded to MonSpace (M) Sdn Bhd and its founder Datuk Seri Jessy Lai Cha Suang for defamation.
However, a three-member bench of the Court of Appeal comprising judges Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah and Datuk Faizah Jamaludin, in a unanimous decision, upheld the High Court’s finding that Lim had defamed both parties.
Justice Sequerah, when delivering the decision today, said the RM2mil in damages imposed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court was excessive.
The court also reduced the costs awarded from RM250,000 to RM50,000.
On March 16, 2023, the High Court ordered Lim to pay RM2mil to the e-commerce company and Lai after ruling in favour of their defamation suit. Lim filed an appeal on the same day.
Justice Sequerah said the panel agreed with the High Court judge's finding that the impugned words were defamatory and had tarnished the reputation of MonSpace and Lai.
The judge said Lim's statements were based on assumptions and alleged that Lai had bribed government officers to avoid enforcement action.
"The defendant (Lim) admitted that he did not seek clarification from the plaintiffs (MonSpace and Lai) prior to making those statements. He also failed to produce any documents to verify the truth.
"It is a serious allegation that has harmed the plaintiffs' reputation. Therefore, there is no reason to interfere with the High Court's decision in allowing the plaintiffs' suit," said Justice Sequerah.
MonSpace and Lai were represented by counsels Ivanpal Singh Grewal and Dhanesh Subramaniam Nair while Lim was represented by Datuk Sankara Nair.
In the suit filed in June 2019, Lai said Lim had claimed that she was running an illegal business and had cheated Chinese investors.
She said the MP's statements, published in the English and Chinese media, implied that she was a dishonest person.
Lai 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 the police, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, to take action against her. - Bernama
