Liew said that she and her lawyers have filed a notice of appeal and are working on the grounds for their bid to reverse the judgment made in the High Court in Tawau on September 30.
In the court case, High Court Judge Chew Soo Hoo awarded Borneo Samudera Sdn Bhd RM557 million in damages against three individuals: first respondent, Siti Rahfizah Mihaldin who was formerly Liew’s clerk; second respondent Samsuri Baharudin, the purported attorney of a group of 819 smallholders; and third respondent Liew, the appointed representative of the group.
The High Court found that the three respondents had unlawfully induced the Bahagak Smallholders Scheme participants to breach their JVA with the company, Borneo Samudera Sdn Bhd (BSSB), a subsidiary of government-linked company Sawit Kinabalu Sdn Bhd, over 12,000 acres of land.
The damages may be the highest ever awarded in Malaysian judicial history either solely or jointly against a serving elected representative.
“The smallholders came to see me in 2005 with their grievances and after hearing them out and doing my due dilligence, I decided to accept their appointment and took instructions to act on their behalf.
“It is not uncommon to hear of cases of the clients suing the lawyers after losing a case, but a suit from a third party is rather unusual and unique,” she said when speaking to reporters here today.
Liew said that as a legal professional, she accepted the judgment and would appeal through the correct channels, but as a politician, she would leave it to the public to judge whether the suit was politically motivated.
In the court case, Borneo Samudera, as the plaintiff in the suit, alleged that the trio had jointly and intentionally designed and schemed to unlawfully induce the breach of agreement to obtain the lots from the 819 smallholders, under Siti’s name, for their own use.
The three were also accused of benefiting from the knowledge that the said lots had been fully developed by the Borneo Samudera and in accordance with the agreement.
Borneo Samudera said that Liew, when preparing the sale and purchase agreements, had advised, conspired and colluded with her “accomplices”, Siti, the purchaser and her staff at the time of signing the various purported SPA, and Samsuri to unlawfully wrest the joint venture land by inducing the smallholders to purportedly sell their land to Siti.
“BSSB pleaded that this amounted to unlawful interference with the said JVA which would deprive BSSB of the use of the said land. BSSB therefore claims damages in the sum of about RM557,641,716.29,” said the statement.
After a full trial, Judge Chew also granted a declaration that the smallholders be relieved from all and every liability under the respective SPAs entered into by them with Siti.
An injunction was also granted to restrain the trio from committing further breaches or unlawfully interfering in the JVA, with loss and damages against the respondents to be assessed by the Deputy Registrar of Tawau, with interest and costs.
The court also found that the various SPAs signed by the smallholders dated sometime in 2005 and 2006 were prepared by Liew based on her unilateral legal opinion that the JVA had been allegedly breached or terminated and that the smallholders were entitled to sell their respective lots.
The judge held that Liew had been instrumental and played an active and major role in the whole transaction herein ignoring the fact that there was an existing JVA between Borneo Samudera and smallholders whose lots in the said land had been pledged under the JVA.
“The deliberate and direct interference with the Plaintiff’s said JVA with the smallholders is undoubtedly for the Defendants’ ultimate personal gains or benefit or enrichment,” said the judgment.
Liew earlier said that a statement issued under Borneo Samudera on the judgment was sensationalised and selective, not representative of the full decision and amounted to a public bias against her.
“It amounts to damaging my credibility and integrity, both as a lawyer and an elected representative of the people. However, despite the hardship, I will continue to serve my constituency,” she said.
Among the clarifications made by Liew’s lawyer, Nelson Anggang, was that there was no coercion and it was made clear to the smallholders that they knew what they were entering into.
“It was also explained during the trial that Liew had studied the documents and consulted two other senior lawyers who had formed the legal opinion that Borneo Samudera had breached the joint venture agreement.
“It is then that the 819 smallholders instructed Liew that they wished to get out of the JVA and sell their lots away to salvage their losses,” he said.
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