–seeks more than $10 million in damages
OPPOSITION Leader Azruddin Mohamed is facing another legal challenge, with Dr Paul Cheong, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), filing a High Court lawsuit over statements published on Mohamed’s Facebook page.
Cheong is now seeking more than $10 million in damages from Mohamed in the defamation action arising from a video published on the “Team Mohamed’s” Facebook page on August 11.
In his Statement of Claim filed in the High Court in Demerara on Augus 17 by Attorney-at-Law Rajendra Jaigobin, Cheong said the publication has “seriously and irreparably damaged” his reputation and standing.
He said the damage is likely to continue among his colleagues, employees, professional associates and members of the public in Guyana, the Caribbean and internationally. The claimant said the impact has already extended into his personal and professional relationships.
“Indeed, persons who have worked with the Claimant for years before the publications have avoided and shunned him,” the court document stated.
Cheong further claimed that members of his profession have confronted him about the contents of Mohamed’s publication.
The lawsuit alleged that the publication brought Cheong into “public scandal, disrepute, contempt” and severely injured his character, credit and reputation.
It also said the allegations subjected him to “ridicule and odium,” lowering his standing in the estimation of ordinary and reasonable readers and listeners.
The publication at the centre of the dispute concerned the proposed Versailles-to-Parika four-lane highway and allegations made by Mohamed about companies bidding for sections of the project.
Among those mentioned was L’Heureuse Construction Services, which Mohamed linked to Cheong while questioning the GuySuCo CEO’s involvement in government construction work.
Mohamed said that the proposed four-lane highway from Versailles to Parika, which is approximately 23 kilometres long and is divided into 17 lots, has attracted bids totalling about $121 billion, questioning the cost when compared with the 9.4-kilometre Eccles-to-Great Diamond four-lane highway, which cost $13.3 billion.
He further pointed to a more than $6.8 billion bid from L’Heureuse Construction Services for the project. Cheong has rejected that connection.
The claim expressly stated that Cheong “is not the owner of L’Heureuse Construction Services or L’Heureuse Construction Services Inc.” and that he has “neither made a bid for government road contracts nor has he been awarded a contract.”
Cheong also disputed Mohamed’s claims concerning the Schoonord road project.
The Statement of Claim said that Mohamed linked Cheong to the approximately $2 billion project and claimed that the road was already deteriorating, allegations Cheong maintains are false and defamatory.
The CEO contended that the publication conveyed a number of serious allegations about his character and professional conduct, including that he was corrupt, lacked morality and integrity, was involved in a conflict of interest and was using his position at GuySuCo for financial benefit.
He also said the publication portrayed him as putting his financial interests ahead of GuySuCo and its employees and as failing to properly perform his duties because of alleged involvement in government contracts.
The claimant is particularly critical of the manner in which he said the information was published.
He alleged that Mohamed did so without conducting a “full and proper investigation into the truth or accuracy” of the allegations.
The CEO described the publication as a “flagrant act of irresponsible behaviour” and a “reckless and wanton disregard” for Mohamed’s responsibility as opposition leader to publish material in the public interest in a fair, accurate and non-malicious manner.
The lawsuit further alleged that the opposition leader published the statements knowing they were false or “recklessly not caring whether they were true or false.”
The reach of the publication is also cited in support of Cheong’s claim of reputational damage.
According to the Statement of Claim, by 6 a.m. on August 14, the Facebook post had attracted more than 1,300 comments and 7,800 likes, and continued to be viewed, shared and commented on. Cheong is seeking damages exceeding $10 million for libel, but the lawsuit is not limited to financial compensation.
He is also asking the High Court to restrain Mohamed, his servants, or agents from republishing the statements or similar material on Facebook, other social media platforms or through any other medium.
Additionally, he wants an order requiring the removal of the alleged defamatory publication from Facebook, along with costs and any other relief the court considers appropriate.
Court documents state that Mohamed must file a defence within 42 days after being served with the Statement of Claim. Failure to defend the proceedings could result in judgment being entered against him in his absence.
Mohamed is a United States-sanctioned businessman who has been criminally indicted there on charges, including conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud, and he is currently facing extradition proceedings in Guyana following the dismissal of his final appeal by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
The lawsuit comes days after Mohamed Aqtar Ali, the brother of President, Dr Irfaan Ali, also threatened legal action against the opposition leader over allegations made in a Facebook video.
