The High Court in Kuala Lumpur today postponed to July 8 to continue hearing a RM30 million defamation suit filed by Seputeh Member of Parliament Teresa Kok Suh Sim against Utusan Malaysia and its columnist, Mohd Zaini Hassan.

Judge Siti Khadijah S Hassan Badjenid postponed the hearing following a request by Kok’s lawyer, SN Nair, to enable him to file another three witness statements.

The court also set July 9 and 10 to hear the case.

Earlier during the proceeding, businessman Kok Sow Kuen, 45, who is a younger brother of the politician, told the court of having lodged a police report on Sept 27, 2008, after he received a note which he claimed contained threats.

“I was at home and heard the sound of glass. I went out and saw a broken bottle and upon checking found some nails and the note,” he said during examination-in-chief by Nair.

Kok filed the suit on Oct 9, 2008, claiming that an article, with the title ‘ Azan, Jawi, Jais, UiTM dan ba-alif-ba-ya ’, published by the Utusan Malaysia newspaper on Sept 10, 2008, had portrayed her as a person who could not be trusted, a bad politician, a racist and anti-Islam.

She claimed that the article was also reprinted and distributed throughout the country and the world through Utusan’s online service, resulting in her reputation and integrity being tarnished.

- Bernama