Mahathir's son settles lawsuits

Thu, 23 Dec 1999 | Source: AFP

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): The eldest son of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has settled multimillion dollar lawsuits against two local Chinese newspapers, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Lawyer R. Thayalan said businessman Mirzan Mahathir filed suits claiming 550 million ringgit (US$144.7 million) in damages against two Chinese-language newspapers and a printer for allegedly defamatory reports. He said his client would receive a "substantial" sum, but the figure would remain confidential.

Mirzan is group executive chairman of shipping firm Konsortium Perkapalan Berhad. The reports over which he sued were translated versions of an article published in the Asian Wall Street Journal (AWSJ) on Jan. 4 this year.

Mirzan said the articles insinuated he was given potentially lucrative opportunities in Malaysia solely because he was the premier's son.

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