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KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s PKR chief Christina Liew won a defamation lawsuit filed against a man for his malicious comments against her in a video that went viral on social media.
The court also ordered the defendant Leksun Injil to pay RM 100,000 compensation to Liew, the former Chief Deputy Minister of Sabah.
Superior Court Judicial Commissioner Leonard David Shim also allowed a court order that prevented Leksun, whether by himself, his servants or agents or otherwise, from publishing or causing it to be published or contributing to the publication of said video. defamatory.
Shim submitted his ruling via electronic review here today. The defendant allegedly made the statement in the video that went viral days before the 2018 general election.
Apart from that, Leksun was also ordered to pay RM 50,000 in costs to Liew, which is the payment of the allocation fee.
Liew, the Api-Api assemblyman, had filed the lawsuit against Leksun, 56, for defamation damages or, alternatively, defamation damages in respect of a video that was widely circulated on WhatsApp.
Liew had argued that the defendant had made defamatory and slanderous comments in said video, referring to the first to a court case involving a smallholder scheme in which she was involved and questioning her candidacy to the polls.
In his ruling, Shim maintained that Liew had succeeded in showing that, on a balance of probabilities, the words were defamatory of her, the words referred to her, and the defendant published the words to the crowd on Gaya Street here. .
“The defendant has caused or contributed directly or indirectly to the publication of the defamatory statements of the video that went viral on social networks through WhatsApp.
“The accused has failed in his defense of justification and fair comment. The defamatory words were substantially false and not true, ”he said.
Shim added that the words have seriously damaged the plaintiff’s reputation, character and credibility in her profession and in the eyes of a segment of the public.
“Therefore, the plaintiff’s cause of action for libel and slander has been proven on a balance of probabilities,” he said.
The lawsuit’s trial took place over three days starting on July 20 of last year. Liew had called three witnesses, including herself, while Leksun was the only witness in her defense.
Attorneys Alex Decena and Jordan Kong represented Liew, while Leksun was represented by Chong Kian Ming.
