Sabah PKR chief wins defamation suit over malicious remarks in viral video

 

Christina Liew claims defendant defamed her with his remarks, linking her to a smallholder scheme court case and saying she was unfit to stand for election.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah PKR chief Christina Liew has won a defamation suit filed against a man over his malicious remarks against her in a video that went viral on social media.

The court also ordered damages of RM100,000 to be paid to Liew, who is former Sabah deputy chief minister, by the defendant Leksun Injil.

High Court judicial commissioner Leonard David Shim also allowed an injunction restraining Leksun whether by himself, his servants or agents or otherwise, from publishing or causing to be published or contributing to the publication of the said defamatory video.

Shim delivered his ruling via e-review here today. The defendant allegedly made the statement in the video which went viral days before the 2018 general election.

Other than that, Leksun was also ordered to pay RM50,000 in costs to Liew, which is payment for allocatur fee.

Liew, the Api-Api assemblyman, had filed the lawsuit against Leksun, 56, for damages for libel or alternatively damages for slander in respect of a video circulated widely via WhatsApp.

Liew had contended that the defendant had made defamatory and slanderous remarks in the said video, referencing the former to a smallholder scheme court case she was involved in and questioning her candidacy for the polls.

In his ruling, Shim held that Liew had managed to prove that, on a balance of probabilities, the words were defamatory of her, the words referred to her, and there was publication of the words by the defendant to the crowd at Gaya Street here.

“The defendant has directly or indirectly caused or contributed to the publication of the defamatory statements in the video that became viral on social media via WhatsApp.

“The defendant has failed in his defence of justification and fair comment. The defamatory words were substantially false and untrue,” he said.

Shim added the words have severely injured 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 trial for the lawsuit was held for three days from July 20 last year. Liew had called three witnesses including herself while Leksun was the sole witness in his defence.

Lawyers Alex Decena and Jordan Kong represented Liew while Leksun was represented by Chong Kian Ming. - FMT