The High Court today ordered the New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Bhd (NSTP) and three of its reporters to pay RM250,000 in general and aggravated damages to the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) for publishing four defamatory articles about the union.

Judge Lau Bee Lan also ordered former NUBE executive council member Ahmed Merican Kader Mydin to pay RM10,000 in damages to NUBE.

The judge, who made the decision in chambers, also ordered NSTP to pay RM60,000 while Ahmed Merican RM1,000 as to costs to NUBE and seven others.

In April 2007, NUBE, its general-secretary J Solomon and six of its office-bearers had filed a defamation suit against NSTP and its reporters Ahmad Fairuz Othman, P Selvarani, Rina De Silva, and also Ahmed Merican over the four defamatory articles.

NUBE’s counsel Alex De Silva and Vinesh Varghese told reporters that the judge found that the articles were indeed defamatory and therefore, there was an element of imbalanced journalism.

“The judge also found that NUBE had given comments on the issues published by way of email and letter but NSTP had failed to them into account,” he said.

Vinesh said the court also allowed an injunction preventing NSTP and its agents from re-publishing similar defamatory statements on NUBE.

NUBE and the seven others filed the suit over the articles published by NSTP between July 22 and Sept 4, 2006, among others in relation to the removal of Abdul Jalil Abdul Hamid, the chairperson of its Penang branch and the president of the union.

They said in consequence, their reputation, credibility and character had been gravely injured.

- Bernama