DAP’s Chong loses appeal in Sarawak govt defamation suit, damages doubled

PETALING JAYA: The Court of Appeal has unanimously dismissed Sarawak DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen’s appeal against a High Court ruling that he had defamed the Sarawak government in 2013 over the “disappearance” of RM11 billion in state funds.

A three-judge panel also increased the damages awarded to the state government and the Sarawak Financial Authority (SFA) from RM150,000 to RM300,000.

The court also ordered the Stampin MP to pay RM150,000 in costs to the Sarawak government and SFA, Dayak Daily reported.

In a statement, Chong said he is considering filing an appeal to the Federal Court.

The Sarawak government and SFA sued Chong in 2013 for claiming that RM11 billion in state funds had disappeared into a “black hole”.

The case only came up for trial in January 2021, with 26 days of proceedings before it concluded in July the same year.

In August 2022, High Court judge Alexander Siew, then a judicial commissioner, ruled that Chong had defamed the plaintiffs and awarded RM150,000 in damages.

During the appeal hearing, Chong’s lawyer, Michael Kong, contended that the case should be remitted for a retrial as the trial judge had erred in setting aside a subpoena for former state finance minister II Wong Soon Koh.

This had prevented Wong from testifying for the defence, said Kong, although counsel acting for the two respondents argued that the trial was conducted properly while a retrial would prejudice the plaintiffs and unnecessarily inconvenience witnesses.