Ex-senator ordered to pay Salim Fateh Din RM275,000 after losing lawsuits
High Court orders Daljit Singh to pay the MRCB executive vice-chairman RM175,000, including costs, for defaming him, and to repay a RM100,000 loan.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court has mandated former Malaysian senator Daljit Singh to compensate Salim Fateh Din with RM275,000 as a result of two legal disputes previously ruled in favor of Salim. Justice Roz Mawar Rozain imposed a fine of RM100,000 for defamation and an additional RM75,000 for costs on Daljit. Additionally, an injunction was issued on July 30, prohibiting Daljit from repeating defamatory statements about Salim.
Salim filed a lawsuit against Daljit in June 2023, alleging that Daljit had made defamatory remarks such as "Salim cheated me" to lawyer Selva Kumar Mookiah in Malay language in 2021. According to Salim, Daljit followed up with a text message about Salim to Selva the next morning. In April 2023, Daljit made another defamatory statement, which was sent to the managing editor of a news portal, according to Salim.
The statements allegedly portrayed Daljit as untrustworthy, a cheat, a fraudster, a liar, and someone who had engaged in illegal and immoral activities. Furthermore, Salim contended that Daljit's remarks damaged his reputation and name. The counterclaim, which the Court of Appeal reinstated in 2024, argued that the statements had been taken out of context, but the court dismissed it, finding that the defenses of justification and qualified privilege were not established.
In a related suit also heard by Justice Roz Mawar, Daljit, who is the treasurer general of the People's Progressive Party, was required to repay an outstanding loan of RM100,000 to Salim.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
