KOTA KINABALU: The hearing of an appeal filed by Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew and a man who is the power of attorney for 819 smallholders in Lahad Datu was postponed to a date to be fixed later.
Liew and the man were ordered to pay Borneo Samudera Sdn Bhd RM557 million damages for allegedly inducing smallholders to breach a joint venture agreement.
Counsel Fulton Mark Sitiwin, who represented the company, said he was informed of the adjournment of the case during e-review of the appeal yesterday.
On September 30, 2014, the High Court here awarded the company RM557,641,716.29 in damages against Samsuri Baharuddin, Liew and one other for allegedly inducing the smallholders to breach their joint venture agreement with Borneo Samudera Sdn Bhd, a private limited company, incorporated under the Companies Act 1965.
In the suit, the company, who named the three persons as defendants, sought among others, an injuction to restrain the defendants by themselves, their servants, employees, agents or otherwise from and to prevent them from committing, a repetition thereof, inducing, procuring breaches or unlawfully interfering in contracts or more particularly the joint venture agreement dated July 9, 1998 between the company and the smallholders.
Apart from that, the company also stated in the suit that in the alternative and or further that the three defendants, jointly and severally pay to the company the sum of RM557,641,716.29 as loss and damages.
On September 21, 2016, the Court of Appeal here had dismissed a notice of motion by the appellants to adduce fresh evidence.
However, Samsuri and Liew managed to obtain a leave to appeal against the apex court’s decision whereby on August 3, 2017, the Federal Court here granted the leave application on one question.
The question was “whether an appellant in a civil appeal to the Court of Appeal can be precluded from relying on transcription of the proceedings at the High Court based on the electronic recording system, the court recording transcription for the purposes of the said appeal”.
Then on February 17, the Federal Court here dismissed an appeal to adduce fresh evidence by both Samsuri and Liew with RM30,000 costs.
Samsuri and Liew were represented by counsel Datuk Alex Decena and Leslie Chaw.