Feb 22 for Lim Guan Eng to testify over damages in defamation suit against Raja Petra

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng will testify in the High Court here on Feb 22 next year in the proceeding to assess the damages in his defamation suit against blogger Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin over allegation of corruption in the RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel project.

Lim’s lawyer, Simon Murali, said the hearing would be before judge Datin Rohani Ismail.

"The new hearing date was set today during a proceeding via e-review by deputy registrar r Dalwinder Singh. Lim will testify as a witness on that day,” he said when contacted through the Whatsapp application.

On Feb 28 this year, Lim, who is also former Penang Chief Minister, obtained a judgment in default against Raja Petra as the blogger did not contest the suit.

Lim filed the suit on Sept 6 last year over a series of “From the MACC Files” articles, in both English and Bahasa Malaysia versions, carried on Raja Petra’s online news portal, ‘Malaysia Today, between Feb 24 to March 15, 2019.

The purported defamatory articles are with regards to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation into the issue of alleged corruption in the infrastructure project.

Lim had sought exemplary damages on grounds that Raja Petra had profited from the huge volume of readership on all the articles.

He had also, among others, sought a front-page apology, and an injunction to prevent the blogger from repeating his allegations.

The DAP secretary-general filed an application for a judgment in default after Raja Petra failed to respond to the notice of the suit that Lim placed in three newspapers this year.

Lim had also attempted to serve the writ and statement of claim to Raja Petra by personal service at the blogger’s last known address which was obtained from the National Registration Department and the Election Commission but was unsuccessful.

-- BERNAMA