A human rights activist failed to obtain an order from the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya to stay the trial of a defamation suit filed against him, which was scheduled for tomorrow.

Justices Zainun Ali, Zaharah Ibrahim and Anantham Kasinather dismissed Charles Hector Fernandez’s stay application and ordered him to pay RM10,000 in legal costs.

Japanese company, Asahi Kosei Sdn Bhd, sued Fernandez for defamation over his blog posts which highlighted the plight of Burmese migrant workers working in the factory.

The Shah Alam High Court has set three days, beginning tomorrow, for trial of the suit.

Fernandez, who is also a lawyer, sought for a stay of the trial, pending his appeal to the appelllate court concerning his application to include the 31 migrant workers as defendants in the suit, which was rejected by the High Court.

The appeal is fixed for hearing at the Court of Appeal on Oct 5.

Asahi Kosei sought damages of RM10 million, claiming that six entries published on Fernandez’s blog contained false statements, resulting in the company receiving queries from its clients, demanding an explanation over the blog entries.

Fernandez was represented by Francis Pereira and Sharmini Thiruchelvam while John Fam Sin Nin appeared for the company.

- Bernama