The Federal Court today allowed journalist MGG Pillai to amend court documents he submitted in requesting for a review of the court's decision on a RM2 million defamation case.

Last August, the Federal Court upheld the award given against Pillai by the High Court in a suit brought by prominent businessman Vincent Tan.

Tan, in his affidavit on March 30, claimed that Pillai had 'tampered and falsified' some of his documents pertaining to the case at the Federal Court in Kuala Lumpur.

The affidavit added that there was an error in the suit number in two sets of documents that were served on him. He added that subsequently, Pillai or his solicitor, without any formal application in court, had altered the court documents by adding a new page to the documents to make the numbers the same.

However, Pillai's counsel Bastian Vendargon told the court that the correction on the numbers were needed to be done to avoid confusion.

The three-member panel chaired by Sabah and Sarawak High Court Chief Judge Steve Shim Lip Kiong decided in favour of Pillai today after hearing deliberations from his counsel Vendargon and Tan's counsel VK Lingam.

"After hearing the submissions we are unanimous that there is sufficient merit in application for amendments," said Shim.

Pillai's request for review on Feb 22 this year is based on his claim that Federal Court which heard his appeal could have acted in bias following a known friendship between the then Chief Justice Eusoff Chin and Lingam, who acts for Tan.

Eusoff was on the Federal Court panel which heard the appeal in 1998. He was alleged to have spent a controversial Christmas holiday with Lingam in New Zealand seven years ago.

Out of context

Earlier, Tan's counsel Lingam urged the court not to allow the amendments as it would be tantamount to the courts validating the alleged falsifications of court documents.

"If the court were to allow this, it would be setting a bad precedent in this country. Other cases in the future might refer to this decision.

"Here is a case of tampering and falsification of court documents done secretly and surreptitiously and they are asking the court to validate it. Adding to that, we have already lodged a report with the police and the Anti-Corruption Agency," Lingam said.

However, Vendargon said that the matter had been taken out of context

"Just because there are investigations being carried out by the police and the ACA, it does not mean that we cannot amend the documents.

"I believe the court will decide on the evidence available and not on something which is ongoing and which has not been proven yet," Vendargon.

The hearing for the review begins at the Federal Court at 9am tomorrow.

The other two members of the Federal Court panel are Haidar Mohd Noor and Siti Norma Yaakob.