Lip Eng Files To Stay Rm2m Monspace Defamation Ruling

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Lim Lip Eng today has filed to stay a court ruling for him to pay RM2 million in damages in a defamation suit by e-commerce firm Monspace (M) Sdn Bhd and its founder Jessy Lai.
The Kepong MP’s legal team applied to stay the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruling pending disposal of his appeal at the Court of Appeal.
When contacted, the DAP lawmaker’s counsel Guok Ngek Seong confirmed the filing of the application to stay the civil court verdict delivered on Thursday last week, which had also ordered Lim to pay RM250,000 in costs and make a public apology.
It was reported earlier today that Lim succeeded in his crowdfunding effort to raise RM2.25 million.
According to a copy of the application made available to the media this afternoon, the defendant said a stay is needed as there are special circumstances that warrant it, pending appeal.
Lim also contended that he would suffer “irreversible damage and prejudice” if he has to make a public apology in several newspapers and social media within seven days of the High Court ruling but at the same time later succeeds in his appeal before the Court of Appeal.
The defendant claimed that the RM250,000 costs are too high as they came close to the costs of RM500,000 awarded in a different civil case within the last 10 years.
Lim contended that the second plaintiff Monspace is a company that no longer runs any business operation and did not file any audit report after 2017 and that this has been admitted by the second defendant’s director, namely first plaintiff Lai, during the court hearing of the defamation action.
The defendant said he had directed his legal team to safely keep the RM2.25 million raised via crowdfunding as a “stakeholder” pending disposal of the appeal.
Lim further contended that there is a real risk of trying to get back the RM2.25 million from the two plaintiffs if he succeeds in his appeal.
No hearing date set
It is understood that the DAP lawmaker’s legal team is in the process of attempting to serve copies of the stay application with plaintiffs Monspace and Lai, who are both represented by counsel Harpal Singh Grewal.
As of press time, no hearing date has been set by the High Court to hear the stay application.
Back in 2019, the media reported that the firm and its founder filed a civil action against Lim over an allegation that the company was involved in an investment scheme that failed to pay returns as promised to investors.
In that same year, the media also reported that a few of the company’s founders were also charged in the criminal court over an alleged pyramid scheme.
In mid-2019, Monspace and Lai filed the defamation action at the civil court after Lim allegedly made multiple statements, including when he and several Chinese nationals visited the company headquarters in Bukit Jalil back on May 23, 2017.
According to the lawsuit’s statement of claim, the two plaintiffs were seeking general and aggravated damages for over 15 alleged defamatory remarks made by Lim through five publications between 2017 and 2018.
Lim, Sungai Pelek assemblyperson Ronnie Liu and 19 Chinese nationals - who claimed they were victims of the MonSpace investment scheme - had gone to the headquarters of the multinational firm to demand a refund or at least an explanation as to why their investment had purportedly not materialised. - Mkini

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