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By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Aug 16: The cross-examination of the 11th witness, Yu Ying Ying continued today, in the trial to hear the defamation suit brought by Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) president Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian and Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen.
In the Kuching High Court, counsel for the defendant Brenda Chong questioned Yu, who is also a counsel for the plaintiff, on various aspects of Yu’s interaction with social media, particularly Facebook and Instagram.
The questioning focussed on the accessibility of the defendant’s allegedly defamatory Facebook posts at the centre of the legal suit.
At the heart of the cross-examination was Yu’s assertion that she had seen and retrieved the defendant’s first and second Facebook posts on April 23, 2020.
However, Brenda probed further, inquiring about the visibility and accessibility of the posts on her news feeds. It was revealed that the defendant’s posts were not ‘pinned’ to the top of the defendant’s Facebook wall and there were newer posts between the dates in question.
Yu’s expertise in using Facebook and Instagram was also questioned. While she admitted to not being an administrator of the defendant’s Facebook page and not having the login details, she maintained that she had accessed the defendant’s posts. The defense questioned her certainty about the accessibility of the posts, given that the settings could be changed.
Furthermore, the question of whether the defendant’s posts were sponsored or boosted posts was raised, to determine whether the defendant’s posts were promoted or if they appeared organically on Yu’s newsfeed.
The cross-examination also touched upon the nature of Yu’s relationship with the defendant. The defense sought to understand if there was any reason for the defendant to restrict the witness’ access to his social media posts, considering that the case had not been filed at the time and no letter of demand had been received.
The trial is set to continue on September 13–14, October 30–31 and November 1–2 this year.
Counsels Shankar Ram Asnani, Russell Lim and Yu, represented the plaintiff, while Chong Siew Chiang, Michael Kong, and Brenda represented the defendant. — DayakDaily
