KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 24): Former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has fully deposited the judgment sum of RM1.35 million in damages to former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng’s lawyers, pending his appeal at the Court of Appeal.

In addition, the Pagoh member of Parliament has also paid RM50,000 in costs that was also awarded by the High Court to Lim.

This was confirmed by Lim’s counsel Guok Ngek Seong when contacted by The Edge, who confirmed the sum had been fully paid on Thursday and placed in his firm’s client’s account.

“Yes, the sum has been fully deposited yesterday,” said Guok.

Muhyiddin’s solicitors Messrs Chethan Jethwani & Co also separately confirmed with The Edge that the firm had deposited the sum with Lim’s lawyers as stakeholders pending appeal.

“The court ordered a stay on the condition that the sum is deposited by the end of January,” Chethan said.

On Dec 16, High Court judge Roz Mawar Rozain allowed Muhyiddin a conditional stay from paying the full sum here and directed the Pagoh MP to pay RM400,000 to Lim, who is also DAP chairman, by year end and the remaining sum of RM1 million before Jan 27.

This follows Lim’s counsel having filed a bankruptcy notice against Muhyiddin for failing to pay RM1.402 million (including RM50,000 in costs and allocator of RM2,000) as ordered by the High Court on Nov 8.

On Nov 8, the court found Muhyiddin to have defamed Lim over the alleged revocation of tax exemption to Yayasan Al Bukhary and ordered him to pay RM1.35 million in damages in addition to RM50,000 in costs.

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