Defamation: Penang High Court orders Siti Mastura to pay RM750,000 to DAP trio

GEORGE TOWN - The Penang High Court today ordered Kepala Batas Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Siti Mastura Muhammad to pay RM750,000 in total to three DAP stalwarts - Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng and Teresa Kok - over her claims that they were related to Communist Party of Malaya leader Chin Peng.

The high court judge Quay Chew Soon ordered Siti Mastura to pay RM300,000, RM250,000 and RM200,000 respectively to Kit Siang, Guan Eng and Teresa.

In delivering his decision, Justice Quay said Siti Mastura acted with malice, while on the balance of probabilities, the Kepala Batas MP has not succeeded in proving her defence of justification, fair command, privilege and innocent dissemination.

"The defendant has made inflammatory remarks, linking the plaintiffs to a prohibited political party and one of its infamous leaders. She has made unsavoury insinuations about the plaintiff's connection with communism.

"By linking the plaintiffs to a communist leader, the insinuation is that they are affiliated with and support communism. In our country, that is considered taboo,” the judge said in the online proceeding today.

Quay said Siti Mastura had even used former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s name to make her allegations seem more credible, but the claims were baseless.

The judge also imposed a five per cent annual interest if Siti Mastura fails to pay the amounts and also ordered her to pay costs of RM25,000 each to the trio.

In November last year, the three DAP leaders filed a defamation suit against Siti Mastura over her claims that they were related to Communist Party of Malaya leader Chin Peng and former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. She allegedly made the claims in her speech during the Kemaman by-election campaign. - BERNAMA