KUCHING, Jan 29: The defamation suit filed by the Sarawak Government and State Financial Authority against Chong Chieng Jen on the RM11 billion “black hole” remark allegedly uttered by Chieng Jen has been adjourned as a Covid-19 patient had visited the Kuching High Court two weeks ago.
High Court Judicial Commissioner (JC) Alexander Siew How Wai fixed today for case management for the case and fixed March 1 to 12 for the continuation of the trial for the case.
The trial commenced on Jan 7. So far four witnesses were called during the trial, including a journalist from Sin Chew Daily, a reader of Sin Chew Daily, former State Financial Authority’s (SFA) Finance Administration unit director, Abdul Kadir Zainuddin to testify for the plaintiffs.
On April 3, 2013, the State Government and State Financial Authority sued Chong in Kuching High Court for defamation for allegedly publishing “the State budget for the past 7 years…. a sum of RM10 billion mysteriously disappeared into this black hole…. and the State does not have money because state money going somewhere else” which had objectionable words in the media on January 3, 2013.
The plaintiff is represented by state legal counsel Dato Sri JC Fong as well as state legal officers Mohd Adzul Adzlan, Voon Yan Sin and Oliver Chua while Chong represented himself. -DayakDaily
