Kuching Appeals Court dismisses Michael Kong's stay application in appeal against Richard Wee defamation case judgement
Photo shows the Kuching Court Complex. — Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING (June 18): The Court of Appeal here today dismissed Michael Kong Feng Nian's application for a stay of the High Court judgment requiring him to pay RM250,000 to Sarawak Federation of Chinese Associations president Datuk Richard Wee Liang Huat for defaming the latter in a Facebook post.
A three-member bench comprising Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, Datuk Dr Choo Kah Sing, and Datuk Ismail Brahim unanimously rejected the Notice of Motion for Stay.
The court also ordered Kong to pay RM10,000 in costs, subject to allocatur.
The appeal stems from a High Court defamation suit brought by Wee against Kong – a special assistant to Sarawak Democratic Action Party chairman Chong Chieng Jen – over a Facebook post dated March 25, 2022, which contained disparaging remarks against Wee and his family.
Kong's post followed Wee's 2020 observation that more urban Chinese voters in Sarawak would likely support Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in the state election due to the coalition's continued efforts to defend Sarawak's rights.
Wee sought general and exemplary damages for libel and malicious falsehood, along with an injunction to restrain Kong from publishing, causing to be published, circulating, and distributing the said post.
On Jan 26, 2024 , High Court Judge Dr Alwi Abdul Wahab, who presided over the case found the statements defamatory and rejected Kong's defences of justification and fair comment.
The court held that Kong failed to prove the truth of his statements and that the comments, driven by malice and not grounded in fact, exceeded the bounds of legitimate political criticism.
The post was deemed a personal attack rather than fair comment on a matter of public interest.
As a result, the court awarded a total of RM250,000 in damages, including RM150,000 in general and aggravated damages, RM50,000 in malicious falsehood damages, and RM50,000 in legal costs.
An interest rate of 5 per cent was also imposed on the damages from the date of the Facebook post.
Following that, Kong's legal team had also applied for leave to appeal, arguing that the amount in dispute fell below RM250,000, and thus required leave under Section 68(1) of the Courts of Judicature Act.
However, Wee's counsel, Datuk Shankar Ram Asnani maintained that leave was unnecessary as the original claim exceeded RM250,000, and the case should proceed directly to appeal.
Kong was represented by Chong Siew Chiang, Chong Chieng Jen, and Sharon Lo Min Hui, while Wee was represented by Shankar and Liu Wan Ping. Court of Appeal defamation case lead Michael Kong Richard Wee
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