KUALA LUMPUR: The Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling that Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng was liable in a defamation suit filed by MonSpace (M) Sdn Bhd and its founder Datuk Seri Jessy Lai, but reduced the amount of damages from RM2mil to RM75,000.
A three-judge panel, chaired by Justice Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, found the initial RM2mil imposed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court to be “excessive”.
Other judges on the Bench were Justices Collin Lawrence Sequerah and Faizah Jamaludin.
In the unanimous decision, read by Justice Sequerah, the panel also reduced the costs awarded to the plaintiffs from RM250,000 to RM50,000.
Justice Sequerah said Lim’s statements accusing Lai were based on assumptions.
“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,” the judge said yesterday.
The appellate court agreed with the High Court judge that the impugned words were defamatory and had tarnished the reputation of MonSpace and Lai.
“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,” Justice Sequerah added.
On March 16, 2023, the High Court ordered Lim to pay RM2mil to MonSpace and Lai after finding that Lim had defamed them.
Lai filed the suit in June 2019, claiming that Lim had defamed her.
She said the MP’s statements, published in English and Chinese media in 2017 and 2018, implied that she was a dishonest person.
