PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal today ordered former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to pay RM250,000 in general damages to former Baling Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim for defamation in connection with the Penang undersea tunnel project.
A three-member panel comprising Justices Datuk Azizah Nawawi, Datuk Seri Mariana Yahya and Datuk Azimah Omar, in allowing Abdul Azeez’s appeal, also ordered Lim as the respondent to pay RM70,000 in costs to Abdul Azeez.
Justice Azimah, when reading out the decision, said the lower court had erred in dismissing Abdul Azeez’s suit against Lim and allowing Lim’s defence of justification, fair comment and qualified privilege over his statement relating to Abdul Azeez.
Abdul Azeez was appealing against the Penang High Court’s decision on Dec 11, 2020 in dismissing his defamation suit against Lim.
In March 2018, Abdul Azeez sued Lim, claiming that he had issued defamatory statements during a press conference at the Penang Chief Minister’s Office on Feb 28, 2018, and during a Chinese New Year open house hosted by the Penang Development Corporation on the same day, linking Abdul Azeez to a payment of RM3 million as consultation fees from the developer of the undersea tunnel project. – BERNAMA
