Sabah court throws out Albert Tei’s suit against state minerals firm

A sessions court in Kota Kinabalu has dismissed a defamation suit filed by businessman Albert Tei against Sabah Mineral Management Sdn Bhd, a state government agency. The judge on August 21 ruled that Tei could not prove the defamatory elements of his claim. Tei had sued the company in August of the previous year, alleging they falsely tied him to a conspiracy aiming to harm the company's and its CEO's reputation, as well as document tampering.

However, the judge determined that the company's statement, when considered as a whole, did not imply Tei's involvement in a political campaign against the firm. The central issue was whether the statement accusing Tei of being part of a broader campaign to damage the company and its officers was defamatory. The judge emphasized that the words "could be" and "may be," when read in the context of the entire statement, indicated the company's opinion on the circumstances surrounding the allegations, rather than a direct accusation of Tei's involvement.

Monika Linsua, the judge, ordered Tei to pay the company RM25,000 in legal costs. Tei's legal representatives were Chong Kian Ming, while SMM was represented by Roger Chin.