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| The Harris - Yong Saga |
The High Court here yesterday ordered Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Yong Teck Lee and the party to pay Tan Sri Harris Salleh RM1 million in damages for defamation over statements made by Yong in relation to the plane crash which killed former chief minister Tun Fuad Stephens and 10 others on board a Nomad aircraft on June 6, 1976.
Judge Dato Abdul Rahman Sebli in his reserved judgement yesterday, ruled that Harris, 81, had proven his case on the balance of probability against Yong and the party who were the first and second defendants respectively in the 50 million suit filed by the plaintiff last year.
The judge held: “There was nothing wrong for the first defendant to call for a re-investigation of the triple six tragedy but when he insinuated that the plaintiff had blood on his hand and should be investigated for a possible criminal act without making any attempt to verify the truth of the alleged new information revealed by Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh, the first defendant had crossed the line separating fair comment and malice aforethought.”
The court held that there was no mistaking the undertone, the undercurrent and the underpinning of the two statements.
Source: The Borneo Post
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