Son of former Malaysian minister denies being detained at Changi Airport

SINGAPORE: Mr Clint Lim, the son of former Malaysian finance minister Lim Guan Eng, on Wednesday (Aug 14) dismissed a claim made by a blogger that he was detained at Changi Airport in February 2020 for bringing RM2 million (S$661,000 at the time) in cash into Singapore without properly declaring the sum, Malaysian media reported.
The father-and-son pair are suing the blogger, Mr Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, for defamation over the claim, which he made in a Facebook post on Mar 14, 2020.
They are seeking RM3 million in damages from Mr Wan Muhammad Azri, who writes under the name Papagomo, according to Bernama.
Mr Wan Muhammad Azri alleged that the purported incident occurred on Feb 29, 2020, however, Mr Clint Lim told the High Court in Kuala Lumpur that he had flown into Singapore nine days earlier and “was nowhere near Changi Airport” on that date.
“Although I was in Singapore on Feb 29, 2020, I was nowhere near Changi Airport. At that point in time, I was working for a company as a property analyst,” Bernama reported him as saying.
“If I may recall, I was with my friends at home in Singapore. It was Saturday, and it was during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The younger Mr Lim worked in Singapore between 2019 and 2021 and is now the general manager of a company in Penang, according to Bernama.
Mr Wan Muhammad Azri, a former UMNO Youth executive committee member, also alleged in his post that Mr Lim Guan Eng travelled to Singapore on Feb 29, 2020, to assist his son after his purported arrest.
The Democratic Action Party chairman and former Penang chief minister rejected this in court on Tuesday, saying that the inspector-general of police (IGP) at the time of the blogger’s post had on Mar 14, 2020, dismissed the allegations it contained.
“The IGP refuted the claim that my son was detained by Singaporean authorities,” Bernama reported the older Mr Lim as saying.
“He also denied the allegation that I went to Singapore airport to intervene on my son’s behalf. He confirmed it as fake news.”
The hearing continues on Thursday.