KUCHING, Sept 24 ― The High Court has fixed the hearing for the state government and State Financial Authority (SFA)’s defamation suit against DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen over the allegation of missing RM11 billion from the state coffers on January next year.
Judicial commissioner Alexander Siew today shifted the hearing dates from October 12 to 16, 2020 to January 4 to 8, 2021 and January 11 to 15, 2021 to allow litigating parties time to submit new documents and amend their defence, respectively.
The new hearing dates were fixed following the Court of Appeal’s decision on Tuesday to allow Chong’s application to amend his defence in the case.
In allowing Chong’s appeal, the Court of Appeal Judges Datuk Hanipah Farikullah, Datuk Ravinthran N. Paramaguru and Datuk Wira Ahmad Nasfy Yasin found that there was no delay in filing the application to amend his defence.
Chong was represented by counsels Chong Siew Chiang and Michael Kong today, while the state government and SFA were represented by state legal officers Mohamad Adzrul Adzlan and Oliver Chua.
In 2013, Chong who is Kota Sentosa assemblyman, had used the term “blackhole” to insinuate that the RM11 billion had gone missing from the state coffers.
The allegation was published in a Chinese national daily, a news portal, and in pamphlets distributed by Chong and the DAP.
As a result, the Sarawak government and the SFA filed the defamation suit against him at the Kuching High Court on April 3, 2013.
On February 12, 2020 a Federal Court in Putra Jaya dismissed Chong’s appeal to review the apex court’s decision which allowed the government to sue for defamation.
The Federal Court then decided that there was no merit in Chong’s appeal.
Chong had applied for the judicial review on the Federal Court judgement delivered on September 26, 2018, on the ground that the judgement violated Article 10 of the Federal Constitution which guaranteed freedom of speech. ― Borneo Post
