Judge warns litigants against using recusal bids to stall trials

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Leong Wai Hong has rejected recusal applications from defendants in two multi-million-ringgit corporate lawsuits, cautioning litigants against attempting to fabricate grounds for judicial bias to secure new judges or delay trials. The legal dispute involves Brainlab AG and its Hong Kong subsidiary, with allegations that the former regional sales director, S Jayaveeran, and associates engaged in an unauthorized device-rental scheme, breached fiduciary duties, and pocketed secret profits.

Among the 12 defendants in the second suit is law firm Messrs Thomas Philip, accused of conspiring to dissipate about RM10 million under the guise of legal fees, currently frozen under an interim Mareva injunction. Recusal bids were filed 19 days into the first trial and months before the second trial was set to begin. Eight of the 12 defendants in the second suit claimed that judge Leong explicitly informed their counsel during a chambers meeting on June 3 that he had already decided the liability issue, leaving only the quantum for determination.

However, the plaintiffs and other defendants denied these allegations, pointing to WhatsApp messages that revealed a mere perception of bias, not an explicit declaration of liability. Judge Leong emphasized that judges should only recuse themselves when there is strong, realistic evidence of bias, citing relevant Malaysian and Singaporean appellate rulings.

He warned against the misuse of recusal applications as weapons of abuse or tactics to stall proceedings, noting that frivolous allegations of bias can be an aggravating factor against the applicant. The judge also ordered the defendants who filed the recusal applications to bear the costs of RM1.3 million in relation to the two suits.