Bakun dam boss sues journalist

Bakun dam boss sues journalist

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): The chairman of Malaysia's mammoth Bakun dam project has sued a local journalist for 100 million ringgit (US$40 million) for defaming him on the Internet, legal sources said yesterday.

The suit by Ekran Bhd. executive chairman Ting Pek Khiing was filed against freelance journalist M.G.G. Pillai last Friday at the High Court in eastern Sarawak state on Borneo, the source told AFP.

Ting is seeking "special damages" from Pillai, who is based in Kuala Lumpur, for allegedly ruining his reputation and defaming the national project globally in articles which appeared on the Internet.

Ting is also seeking an injunction to prevent Pillai from further publishing any negative or unfavorable reports about the project, his company or himself.