00:00Supermax founder and chairman Stanley Tai has asked the High Court to delay the start
00:04of a high-profile defamation trial initiated against him by his estranged wife Tan Bi-yok.
00:10Tai is seeking to state the trial set to begin tomorrow, pending the disposal of an application
00:15filed last week for several protective orders. Among them, Tai wants all proceedings conducted
00:20behind closed doors. Tan, co-founder of the glove-making giant, is suing Tai over a series
00:26of text messages and robo-remarks allegedly made to family and friends three years ago.
00:31Statements she claims were calculated to shame her as a mother, relative, and business leader.
00:36Tai claims the protective orders are necessary to preserve the integrity of the proceedings,
00:41warning that the application would become nugatory, academic, and cause irreparable
00:45prejudice and injury if not heard before the trial commences. The application is scheduled
00:50for case management tomorrow, the same day the trial is set to begin, before Judicial Commissioner
00:55Eddie Yeo. It raises a significant and potentially unprecedented legal question in Malaysia.
01:00Can a defendant, accused in a defamation suit of damaging the plaintiff's public reputation,
01:06restrict the public from proceedings initiated by the plaintiff to restore that reputation?
01:11Tai claims the trial touches on confidential, private family matters that are not of public interest.
01:17He is understood to be calling several well-known individuals to testify, including a former national
01:22badminton player, a prominent businessman, and the manager of a renowned international artiste.
01:27Tai claims one witness is about to get married and would not want past romantic relationships
01:32brought out into the open. Natasha Buse, FMT.
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