By Anisah Shukry
Free Malaysia Today
August 15, 2012
PETALING JAYA: DAP’s Teresa Kok is demanding RM10 million in damages from Tony Tan, her former aide, over several allegedly defamatory statements he made during a press conference in April this year.
The letter of demand, issued by SN Nair & Partners on behalf of Kok, stated that Tan must also publish an apology to her in any newspapers or media of her choice.
The letter said that Kok would file a lawsuit should Tan fail to produce a satisfactory reply within seven days.
On April 26, the Chinese language daily China Press published an article in which Tan reportedly claimed Kok had channelled charity money worth RM5,000 into her own political funds.
“I was ordered to collect money from a wealthy businessman in Sabah to help a single mother’s association, but then the charity was used for other purposes,” he was quoted as saying.
The article states that Tan recalled receiving RM10,000 from the Sabahan businessman, yet the association was only given half of the amount, while the other half was allocated towards Kok’s election funds.
This caused him to suspect Kok was involved in corruption, the article wrote, adding that he had subsequently lodged an official report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission against his former employer.
But the letter of demand denied Tan’s comments, stating that they were “wholly untrue, motivated by malice… and principally done in [his] pursuit of seeking cheap publicity/sensationalism…”
It also said the statements made were “pre-mediated and calculated to tarnish, malign, defame and seriously injure the good name and character” of Kok.