The Court of Appeal today upheld the High Court judgment ordering Utusan Malaysia to pay RM250,000 in damages to DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang for defaming him.

This is for an article ‎published by the Umno-owned daily that it picked up from a booklet by one 'Father Augustus Chen'.

The three-member panel led by Court of Appeal judge Lim Yee Lan held that the article published by Utusan Malaysia is indeed defamatory.

The other panel members were Justices Varghese George Varghese and ‎Idrus Harun.

In addition, Justice Lau ordered Utusan pay RM15,000 in costs to the Gelang Patah MP.

Lim was represented by Gobind Singh Deo, who related the appellate court decision to Malaysiakini later this morning.

On Dec 10 last year, High Court judge Yeoh Wee Siam held that the article titled ‘Kit Siang manipulasi pemilihan CEC’ (Kit Siang manipulated CEC elections) quoting the 16-page booklet to be defamatory .

Lim sued Utusan Malaysia in September, claiming that the article published on Aug 18, 2014, had damaged his reputation.

Utusan Malaysia heavily quoted the booklet, alleging the absence of 753 delegates at the DAP assembly was due to the party not giving due notice during the DAP central executive committee elections and that there were also 547 phantom voters.

It further alleged that Lim and his son, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is also DAP secretary-general, had manipulated the party's CEC election.