Appeals Court set Aug 8 to hear Kepong MP's fresh bid to stay RM2 million defamation judgement

PUTRAJAYA - The Court of Appeal has set Aug 8 to hear Kepong Member of Parliament (MP) Lim Lip Eng's application for a stay of a court ruling for him to pay RM2 million in damages in a defamation suit that was filed against him by MonSpace (M) Sdn Bhd and its founder Datuk Seri Jessy Lai Cha Suang.

The date was fixed during the case management before Court of Appeal deputy registrar Mariam Hasanah Othman today.

Lim's lawyer Wong Guo Jin confirmed the hearing date when contacted by Bernama.

The hearing of the stay application will be conducted online, said Wong.

Lim is seeking to stay the High Court’s decision pending disposal of his appeal in the Court of Appeal.

On March 16 this year, the High Court ordered Lim to pay RM2 million to the e-commerce company and Lai after it allowed their defamation lawsuit. Lim subsequently filed an appeal on the same day.

Last May 22, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur dismissed Lim’s application for a stay of the High Court’s decision prompting him to file a fresh stay application at the Court of Appeal.

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.

In the High Court decision, Judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir said the court found that the MonSpace and Lai had proven their claims against Lim for defamation and that Lim’s statements also tarnished their image and reputation. - BERNAMA