Shankar (right) with his lawyer, Wong (left) and one of Dr Sim’s counsels, Dato Bong Ah Loi, after the court decision today.
KUCHING (Mar 18): The Court of Appeal today dismissed a High Court order citing lawyer Shankar Ram Asnani for contempt of court in connection with a defamation suit filed by Local Government and Housing Minister Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
The appellate court ruled that the order had breached natural justice and procedure affecting the right to a fair trial.
It also set aside the Jan 12 High Court decision to dismiss Dr Sim’s suit against Sarawak Democratic Action party chief Chong Chieng Jen, meaning the trial will proceed in the High Court.
Judges Datuk Lau Bee Lan, Datuk Ravinthran N.Paramaguru and Dato Indera Mohd Sofian Tan Sri Abdul Razak passed the verdict in a hearing held virtually.
Shankar was cited for contempt by High Court Judicial Commissioner Alexander Siew on Jan 12 this year for allegedly obstructing justice and compromising the integrity of the trial action.
Siew had dismissed the suit after the plaintiff failed to submit the bundle of documents and pleadings in a month despite being ordered by the court to do so.
Dr Sim, who is Sarawak United People’s Party president, had filed the suit over Chong’s allegation that residents in opposition-held areas were denied government during the pandemic last year.
Chong alleged that Dr Sim had failed to manage the distribution of food assistance amounting to RM800,000 for the state constituency of Padungan, Batu Lintang, Pending and Kota Sentosa.
Dr Sim had argued that such allegations were not true but was calculated to smear his image and maliciously insinuate that he mismanaged the allocation for food assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He had allegedly uttered the defamatory remarks via facebook on April 15 and April 18 last year. The remark was followed by one Facebook post by Michael Kong, who is a lawyer and also Chong’s special assistance.
Kong is also being sued by Dr Sim.
Lawyer Wong King Wei represented Shankar today.
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