<figure id="attachment_2781787" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2781787" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-2781787" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6ae02243-lim-guan-eng-bernama-070624-1.webp" alt="lim guan men" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2781787" class="wp-caption-text">The High Court ruled that China Press Bhd had defamed then finance minister Lim Guan Eng in 2021 by publishing the statements without attempting to verify them or seeking Lim&#8217;s response. (Bernama pic)</figcaption></figure>
GEORGE TOWN: Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng has been awarded RM550,000 in damages by the High Court which ruled that Gerakan deputy president Oh Tong Keong had falsely accused him of helping a concert organiser obtain tax exemptions while Lim was finance minister.
Justice Kenneth St James ruled that Oh had defamed Lim at a press conference on Sept 25, 2019, and through a press release sent out by Penang Gerakan&#8217;s official email address.
The remarks were later published in the China Press newspaper, which was also found liable.
At a press conference in 2019, Oh questioned why Lim had granted tax exemptions to WGW Entertainment Sdn Bhd and its owner Hendrik Huang for a Mandopop concert at Spice Arena, implying the former finance minister had done so.
The Gerakan leader had produced photos of Lim and Huang, and official letters from the tourism ministry, at the press conference in an attempt to imply a connection.
In his judgment delivered via Zoom today, St James found that Oh had no basis for his claims and gave no evidence that the former finance minister knew Huang or had granted any tax privileges.
The judge said although Oh’s statements were framed as questions, they were found to be defamatory in nature and did not qualify as fair comment.
He said the statements were neither factual nor in the public interest, and he found no legal or moral duty for Oh to publish them.
St James added that Oh was responsible as both state chairman and national deputy president of Gerakan for disseminating the press release.
The court also accepted testimonies from two reporters that Oh had regularly used the same Gerakan email address to issue press statements, further confirming his role in its publication.
Oh was ordered to pay RM400,000 in general damages, RM100,000 in costs, and 5% annual interest from the date the writ was filed. He must also publish an unconditional apology to Lim in China Press; online and in print.
He was also barred from making the same claims again.
St James also ruled that China Press Bhd had defamed Lim by publishing Oh’s statements without attempting to verify the allegations or seeking the Bagan MP&#8217;s response.
He said China Press should have exercised greater caution, especially since the remarks were made by a political opponent.
The judge said the paper had failed to meet the standards of responsible journalism and was not entitled to rely on qualified privilege.
The defence of qualified privilege enables journalists to report on important issues, especially those involving matters of public interest, granted if they did it fairly, carefully and without ill intent.
The paper was ordered to pay RM150,000 in damages, RM80,000 in costs, and interest at 5% per annum.
Lim was represented by K Simon Murali and Kok Yuen Lin, Oh was represented by Baljit Singh and Kernail Singh, while China Press was represented by Yiew Voon Lee and Yiew De Xian.
When contacted, Oh’s lawyer Baljit said he had yet to receive any instruction to file an appeal.

MatchPoint Times

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