KUCHING: Padungan state assemblyman Dominique Ng faces the risk of being declared a bankrupt if he cannot come up with funds to settle damages, in relation to a defamation suit, in the next few days.
PUBLIC APPEAL: Ng (third left) together with Jemali (second right) and other PKR members holding up a PKR banner yesterday after the press conference to appeal for funds for Ng.
Ng, who is Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)’s sole assemblyman, is now appealing to the public, including PKR members and leaders, to help him finance the settlement. A fund-raising committee has been set up for this purpose.
He claimed that he had been given seven days, starting from Feb 28, to pay RM100,000 to lawyer Chong Siew Chiang, who is a DAP member.
Ng told a press conference yesterday that he was also facing another claim of RM100,000 from another lawyer in a separate case.
Ng said he had received a letter of demand dated Feb 28 from Chong Brothers Advocates demanding that he pay up the damages of RM100,000 to Chong Siew Chiang.
“I am given one week to come out with the RM100,000, including interest. If I fail to pay, they will proceed with execution proceedings. In layman’s term, they will do a bankruptcy proceeding if I don’t pay within one week,” he explained.
Failure to pay also means that Ng would not be eligible to contest in the coming state election. He also cannot practice law. He added that he had informed PKR national leaders regarding the issue and appealed to them for assistance.
As proof that PKR leaders would come to his assistance, Ng told reporters that PKR Sarawak advisor Datuk Seri Hafsah Harun contributed RM5,000 to him on Tuesday.
“In the meantime, I have also appealed for a stay of execution.”
Touching on the incident that sparked the defamation suits, Ng said he was speaking in his capacity as the PKR Sarawak chairman during a ‘ceramah’ in 2008 for PKR state information chief See Chee How.
See Chee How, who is currently PKR Stampin chairman, was then the PKR candidate for Stampin in the March 2008 general election.
Meanwhile, PKR Kuching has launched a public appeal entitled ‘Save Padungan, The Bastion of Reformasi in Sarawak,’ headed by former PKR Stampin deputy chairman Jemali Satong.