Chong Chieng Jen
KUCHING: Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen will take the witness stand in his ‘black hole’ trial at the High Court here today, his lawyer Michael Kong said.
On top of calling Chong as a key defence witness, Kong said he will also be requesting from Judicial Commissioner Alexander Siew for more trial dates next week.
Chong, the Kota Sentosa assemblyman and Stampin MP, will be the second defence witness.
The first was a court interpreter who was asked to translate a news report from Mandarin to English when testifying during yesterday’s hearing. The interpreter is set to take the stand again today.
Chong is being sued for defamation by the Sarawak government and State Financial Authority (SFA) for using the term ‘black hole’ to insinuate that RM11 billion had gone missing from the state coffers.
His allegation was published in Sin Chew Daily News, Malaysiakini and in leaflets distributed by him and the DAP, and also published in the Rocket.
As a result, the Sarawak government and SFA filed a defamation suit against him at the High Court here.
Representing the Sarawak government are state legal counsel Dato Sri JC Fong and state legal officers Mohd Adzul Adzlan, Voon Yan Sin and Oliver Chua.
Chong is defending himself while assisted by Kong.
The case is of significance because it will set the precedent that governments can sue individuals for defamation.
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