The Court of Appeal today unanimously dismissed an appeal by Raub Australian Gold Mining (RAGM) against a High Court judgment in a defamation suit which favoured Bukit Koman villager Hue Shieh Lee.

The appeal court also ordered RAGM to pay Shieh Lee RM20,000 in costs.

The three-member bench was chaired by Justice David Wong Dak Wah. The other two judges were Justice Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid and Justice Kamardin Hashim.

The suit filed by RAGM against Shieh Lee was over two articles published by Malaysiakini and Free Malaysia Today.

On the first article, Justice Wong said Shieh Lee merely exercised her duty as an activist to read out a survey results of the residents' health problem at a press conference.

In his judgment, Wong said Shieh Lee was the vice-president of Ban Cyanide Action Group (BCAC) and she was expressing her concern for the villagers, which was within her right as an activist.

The judges even commended Shieh Lee for bringing the matter up to the authorities regarding their concern over the health of the villagers, whose new village is located near the gold mine.

"She (Shieh Lee) only read out the finding of survey, she was exercising the right of an activist," said Wong.

The judge also recognised the importance of the activists' role in the society.

He said that activists are an important part of society with regard to transparency and freedom of speech, but at the same time it didn't mean they had the licence to defame others.

"The existence of activist groups cannot be denied, it is required for the general well-being of society."

On the second article, Wong said the appellant did not prove that the contents reported by Free Malaysia Today over Shieh Lee's statement was indeed expressed by her.

He said that the burden of proof was on the appellant but RAGM couldn't provide proof that what the article stated reflected what Shieh Lee actually said.

Meanwhile, Shieh Lee was pleased and encouraged by the decision of the appeal court and hoped that this would bring confidence to those who were fighting for the environment and well-being.

However, she stressed that pollution had been caused and she hoped that the relevant authorities would take the necessary action to mitigate it.

"From the beginning until now, over the years, there were many times the media dare not report on this issue due to fear of some factors.

"In light of this judgment, I hope the media can be more at ease to make appropriate reports," she told reporters outside the court.

Defamations suits

In 2013, RAGM initiated defamation suits against three members of BCAC, which had been campaigning against the company's gold mine near their village in Bukit Koman, Raub, Pahang.

Other than Shieh Lee, the other two suits involved BCAC's chairperson Wong Kim Hoong and secretary Hue Fui How.

Subsequently, Wong and Fui How apologised in open court to RAGM over their statements and RAGM withdrew its suit against the duo.

However, Shieh Lee opted to fight her case in court.

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur ruled on May 17 that RAGM failed to prove that Shieh Lee's statement against the gold mine was malicious falsehood and ordered the company to pay RM20,000 in costs.

RAGM, which also filed a defamation suit against Malaysiakini, had insisted that allegations that sodium cyanide used for gold extraction was hazardous to Bukit Koman residents were unsubstantiated.

High Court judge Rosnaini Saub had on May 23 dismissed the gold mine’s claim against Malaysiakini and three other defendants, all of whom were members of the news portal's editorial team.

RAGM also filed an appeal against this decision to the Court of Appeal. Case management for this appeal has been set for next Tuesday.