Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 14:34:57 +0800
Sept 8, 2000
Journalist given 14 days to pay up RM3 million
12.45pm, FRI: Freelance journalist MGG Pillai said he has received a letter
of demand from business tycoon Vincent Tan's lawyers giving him 14 days to
pay up RM2 million plus interest arising from the award of damages following
the final disposal of Tan's defamation suit against Pillai and others by the
Federal Court recently.
The letter of demand dated Sept 5 was sent by Tan's lawyers Messrs Adam
Bachek & Associates, said failure to pay within the 14-day deadline of RM2
million plus interest (which would amount to over RM1 million), would result
in commencement of "proceedings against you (Pillai) without any further
reference to you in which event you will be liable for further costs".
On July 12, the three-member panel of the Federal Court ! - the country's
highest court - had ruled in favour of Tan, Berjaya Group chief, in his RM10
million suit against seven defendants including Pillai in a case first
decided by the Kuala Lumpur High Court in 1994.
In October 1994, then High Court judge Mokhtar Sidin found Pillai,
journalist Hasan Hamzah, Media Printext, printer Ling Wah Press and three
others liable for defaming Tan in four articles published in the Malaysian
Industry magazine and ordered the defendants to pay Tan a total of RM10
million in damages.
The Federal Court, comprising Chief Justic Eusoff Chin, Chief Judge of
Malaya Wan Adnan Wan Ismail, and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Chong
Siew Fai, unanimously held that the awards made by the High Court and
affirmed by the Court of Appeal were reasonable and assessed based on
established principles of law (Federal Court dismisses appeal by journalist
, July
12).
The judgment, read out by Federal Court assistant r! egistrar Siti Mariam
Othman, dismissed Pillai's appeal for a lapse of 30 months which hearing was
completed in January 1998.
Pillai told malaysiakini today he had left the matter "of the letter of
demand" in the hands of his lawyers.
Referring to the recent Federal Court's decision, Pillai noted that when
Eusoff Chin adjourned the case before judgment, he assured that each of the
three judges would write separate judgments, but this was not done as the
court assistant registrar read out a joint judgment.
"Further, the three-member panel did not address the issues raised by my
counsel and only dealt with the quantum of damages involved," Pillai added.
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