Court of Appeal upholds defamation judgment against Jamal Yunos

Court of Appeal upholds defamation judgment against Jamal Yunos

Court of Appeal rules that the High Court judge had not erred in allowing the defamation case brought against Jamal by Seputeh MP Teresa Kok to proceed after he fired his lawyer.

Sungai Besar Umno division chief Jamal Yunos today lost his appeal against a defamation judgment in a suit brought by Teresa Kok, with the panel awarding the Seputeh MP a further RM20,000 in costs.
PUTRAJAYA:
The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court ruling that Sungai Besar Umno division chief Jamal Yunos defamed Seputeh MP Teresa Kok in 2017.

A three-member bench – chaired by Justice Supang Lian, who was joined by Justices Wong Kian Kheong and Azman Abdullah – said the High Court judge’s ruling was safe.

Jamal had filed for a retrial because he was not represented, having dismissed his lawyer a day before the trial.

High Court Justice Arief Emran Arifin had ordered Jamal to pay Kok RM300,000 in general, aggravated and exemplary damages after failing to prove his defence, plus RM50,000 in costs.

Today, the panel also ruled against Jamal’s appeal to reduce the award and instead tacked on another RM20,000 for costs incurred during the appeal.

Kok filed for defamation in 2017 after Jamal accused her of misappropriating Yayasan Warisan Anak Selangor (Yawas) funds under the Selangor government’s Skim Mesra Usia Emas initiative.

Arief said Jamal’s remarks at a press conference, held on March 8, 2017, were “intended to attack the plaintiff (Kok) personally and in her professional capacity as an MP”.

In her lawsuit, Kok contended that Jamal’s remarks gave the impression that she had misused state funds and that she was unethical.

Lawyers Jaden Phoon and Rebecca Marshall represented Kok, while Reginder Singh appeared for Jamal.

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