SHAH ALAM: The High Court yesterday struck out former Selangor menteri besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo’s RM10 million “luxury bungalow” defamation suit against Sekinchan assemblyman Ng Suee Lim.

Judicial Commissioner Datuk Azimah Omar made the order after Mohamad Khir applied to withdraw the case, according to Ng’s lawyer M Manoharan.

Manoharan told reporters that there was no order for costs.

Mohamad Khir in his suit filed on Jan 7, 2010, alleged that Ng had tarnished his image through a media statement with regards to his ownership of a bungalow.

Ng, in his statement of defence, said he had conditional justification to expose any abuse of power by the former menteri besar. He also denied that his statement was defamatory in fact or law.

Ng also said his statement was fair comment, made in the interest of the public and factually accurate.

On July 6, 2009, the DAP assemblyman claimed that Mohamad Khir had purchased a bungalow at Section 7 in Shah Alam, which cost about RM24 million.

Ng compared the figure to the latter’s annual income of about RM576,000 or RM4.6 million in the eight years he had held the menteri besar post.

Mohamad Khir, who was represented by counsel M Athimulan, had denied the claim, saying that the bungalow was only worth RM3.5 million and bought with a 30-year repayment bank loan.

The Court of Appeal, in May last year, upheld Mohamad Khir’s conviction and 12-month jail sentence for corruptly obtaining for himself and his wife, two plots of land and a bungalow at Section 7 here.

The court also upheld the Shah Alam High Court ruling on Dec 23, 2011, ordering Mohamad Khir to forfeit ownership of the property and hand it over to the government. — Bernama

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on November 14, 2014.