The NINE QUESTIONS Panel asks whether Clare Brown will be returning the over £30,000 in 'donations' collected for her legal fees, now determined to be much less than the wild figure of £800,000 she cunningly came up with, perhaps to garner more sympathy for her bogus cause - a conclusion seemingly shared by the courts in London despite CRB's desperately incessant protestations to the contrary.
Although the possibility that she would be needing a whole lot more than the current amount is tantalisingly within the horizon - and well deserved should the courts find against her. Which should lead the donors to kick themselves in the head for having parted with any sum to defend a person who would then have been proven the liar.
– The NINE QUESTIONS Panel
Although the possibility that she would be needing a whole lot more than the current amount is tantalisingly within the horizon - and well deserved should the courts find against her. Which should lead the donors to kick themselves in the head for having parted with any sum to defend a person who would then have been proven the liar.
– The NINE QUESTIONS Panel
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1.
2. RELATED: CLARE LOST PRE-TRIAL CASE AS LONDON COURT TRUSTS MALAYSIAN SYSTEM
3. RELATED: LONDON COURTS ACCEPT HADI'S OFFER IN SUIT AGAINST SR EDITOR
4. RELATED: PERKEMBANGAN POSITIF KES SAMAN SARAWAK REPORT DI LONDON
5. RELATED: WHO'S FOOTING THE BILL FOR HADI'S COSTLY UK SUIT, ASKS REWCASTLE-BROWN
6. RELATED: SARAWAK REPORT REACHES GBP£30,000 LEGAL FUND GOAL
6. RELATED: SARAWAK REPORT REACHES GBP£30,000 LEGAL FUND GOAL
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LONDON COURT FAVOURS HADI IN CASE MANAGEMENT IN SUIT AGAINST CLARE REWCASTLE-BROWN
“This [deposit] is in the event he (Hadi) was to lose the case and would have to pay Rewcastle-Brown’s legal costs, which she estimates to be around £800,000 (RM4.5 million) in total for the whole hearing till completion.”
REPORTED BY NEW STRAITS TIMES
KUALA LUMPUR, AUGUST 5, 2017 –
Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s case management involving his civil suit against Sarawak Report founder and editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown, favoured on behalf of the PAS president.
The Case management took place at the Courts in London, United Kingdom on August 2.
In a statement, Hadi’s political secretary Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said the case management arose after Rewcastle-Brown applied to the court for the Marang member of parliament to deposit monies with the court as a security for legal costs involving the parties court proceedings.
“This is in the event he (Hadi) was to lose the case and would have to pay Rewcastle-Brown’s legal costs, which she estimates to be around £800,000 (RM4.5 million) in total for the whole hearing till completion.”
The civil suit is related to an article titled ‘As Najib Denies All Over 1MDB, Let’s Not Forget His Many Other Criminal Connections – COMMENT’ published on August 6 last year which Hadi’s counsel claimed as being false.
The article purportedly alleges that Hadi had received bribes from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to the tune of RM90 million.
Hadi was represented by lawyers from the legal firm of Carter-Ruck and barrister Jacob Dean.
Carter-Ruck, assisted by a legal opinion from a law expert in Malaysia had successfully argued, that there exists well-established laws between the UK and Malaysia which allows for Brown to claim the costs through Malaysian courts, which will see a cost of not more than RM80,000.
“Based on his confidence on the case from the beginning, Hadi had already offered to deposit this amount with the court, which was sufficient and uncontroversial.
“Rewcastle-Brown’s arguments that she cannot successfully bring a legal suit against Hadi in Malaysia as the judiciary, government and the Prime Minister are corrupted and are complicit with him was rejected by the court.
“As the court observed, these serious allegations were not supported by any evidence from Rewcastle-Brown whatsoever, despite having months to provide some,” he said.
Samsuri said the London Court had also made it clear that in the absence of evidence, the court could not accept that another sovereign state that has good ties and relationship with UK is corrupt.
The court accepted Hadi’s offer to pay the RM80,000 deposit.
Samsuri said in recognition of the flawed basis of her application, Rewcastle-Brown was ordered to pay Hadi two thirds of his costs of the exercise.
She has to pay £15,000 (RM83,719) to Hadi now, with the quantum of the balance to be assessed by the court in due course.
“The court also ordered Rewcastle-Brown to submit her defence into court within 21 days so Hadi can proceed with this case and she cannot continue to prevaricate,” he said.
A request to appeal this judgment by Rewcastle-Brown’s lawyers was disallowed by the court.
“This is a very positive development for Hadi in his bid to clear his name of the allegations by Rewcastle-Brown and Sarawak Report in their article,” Samsuri said.
“He also would like to extend his gratitude to members of PAS and the members of public who have been supporting him in this very difficult case,” he said.
Hadi was also informed by Carter-Ruck that the Malaysian High Commission in London had sent representatives to attend and to observe the proceedings as many political allegations were made against the Prime Minister of Malaysia, the government of Malaysia and the judiciary in Malaysia by Rewcastle-Brown in documents that she is filing into court.
('London Court Favours Hadi in Case Management in Suit Against Clare Rewcastle-Brown.' – New Straits Times, August 5, 2017)
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1. LONDON COURT FAVOURS HADI IN CASE MANAGEMENT IN SUIT AGAINST CLARE REWCASTLE-BROWN
2.
3. RELATED: LONDON COURTS ACCEPT HADI'S OFFER IN SUIT AGAINST SR EDITOR
4. RELATED: PERKEMBANGAN POSITIF KES SAMAN SARAWAK REPORT DI LONDON
5. RELATED: WHO'S FOOTING THE BILL FOR HADI'S COSTLY UK SUIT, ASKS REWCASTLE-BROWN
6. RELATED: SARAWAK REPORT REACHES GBP£30,000 LEGAL FUND GOAL
6. RELATED: SARAWAK REPORT REACHES GBP£30,000 LEGAL FUND GOAL
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RELATED: CLARE LOST PRE-TRIAL CASE AS LONDON COURT TRUSTS MALAYSIAN SYSTEM
The London court is of the view that the SR editor can obtain substantial costs in Malaysia if Hadi loses defamation case, explains lawyer Americk Sidhu.
REPORTED BY FREE MALAYSIA TODAY
('Clare Lost Pre-Trial Case as London Court Trusts Malaysian System.' – Free Malaysia Today, August 6, 2017)PETALING JAYA, (AUGUST 6, 2017) – The London courts have allowed PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang to pay a deposit of RM80,000 as security, in the event he loses a civil suit he filed against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle Brown, his political secretary said today.
Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said the decision was made following a case management hearing on Aug 2 attended by the lawyers from the legal firm of Carter-Ruck and barrister Jacob Dean, who are representing Hadi.
He said the hearing was held to determine an attempt by Rewcastle Brown to force Hadi to deposit money with the court in the event he loses and has to pay her legal costs. He said she estimated these to be around £800,000 (RM4.47 million) for the whole hearing till completion.
He said the court accepted Hadi’s offer to pay RM80,000.
“Carter-Ruck successfully argued, assisted by a legal opinion from a law expert in Malaysia, that there exists well-established laws between the UK and Malaysia that allows for CRB (Rewcastle Brown) to claim the costs through the law courts in Malaysia, incurring a cost of not more than RM80,000,” Ahmad said in a statement.
“CRB’s arguments that she cannot successfully bring a legal suit against TGHA (Hadi) in Malaysia as the judiciary, government and the prime minister are corrupted and are complicit with him was rejected by the court,” he added.
“As the court observed, these serious allegations were not supported by any evidence from CRB whatsoever, despite having months to provide some.”
Ahmad also said Rewcastle Brown was ordered to pay Hadi two-thirds of his costs for the exercise.
She has to pay £15,000 (RM83,700) to Hadi now, with the quantum of the balance to be assessed by the court in due course, he said.
“This is a very positive development for TGHA in his bid to clear his name of the allegations by CRB and Sarawak Report in their article,” Ahmad said.
He said the court also ordered Rewcastle Brown to submit her defence within 21 days.
A request to appeal the judgment by her lawyers was disallowed by the court, he added.
Ahmad said Hadi was also informed by Carter-Ruck that the Malaysian high commission in London had sent representatives to the hearing.
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1. LONDON COURT FAVOURS HADI IN CASE MANAGEMENT IN SUIT AGAINST CLARE REWCASTLE-BROWN
2. RELATED: CLARE LOST PRE-TRIAL CASE AS LONDON COURT TRUSTS MALAYSIAN SYSTEM
3.
4. RELATED: PERKEMBANGAN POSITIF KES SAMAN SARAWAK REPORT DI LONDON
5. RELATED: WHO'S FOOTING THE BILL FOR HADI'S COSTLY UK SUIT, ASKS REWCASTLE-BROWN
6. RELATED: SARAWAK REPORT REACHES GBP£30,000 LEGAL FUND GOAL
6. RELATED: SARAWAK REPORT REACHES GBP£30,000 LEGAL FUND GOAL
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RELATED: LONDON COURTS ACCEPT HADI'S OFFER IN SUIT AGAINST SR EDITOR
The PAS president’s political secretary says the court accepted Hadi’s offer to pay RM80,000, although Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle Brown estimated her legal costs to be about RM4.47 million.
REPORTED BY FREE MALAYSIA TODAY
PETALING JAYA, AUGUST 5, 2017 –
The London courts have allowed PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang to pay a deposit of RM80,000 as security, in the event he loses a civil suit he filed against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle Brown, his political secretary said today.
Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said the decision was made following a case management hearing on Aug 2 attended by the lawyers from the legal firm of Carter-Ruck and barrister Jacob Dean, who are representing Hadi.
He said the hearing was held to determine an attempt by Rewcastle Brown to force Hadi to deposit money with the court in the event he loses and has to pay her legal costs. He said she estimated these to be around £800,000 (RM4.47 million) for the whole hearing till completion.
He said the court accepted Hadi’s offer to pay RM80,000.
“Carter-Ruck successfully argued, assisted by a legal opinion from a law expert in Malaysia, that there exists well-established laws between the UK and Malaysia that allows for CRB (Rewcastle Brown) to claim the costs through the law courts in Malaysia, incurring a cost of not more than RM80,000,” Ahmad said in a statement.
“CRB’s arguments that she cannot successfully bring a legal suit against TGHA (Hadi) in Malaysia as the judiciary, government and the prime minister are corrupted and are complicit with him was rejected by the court,” he added.
“As the court observed, these serious allegations were not supported by any evidence from CRB whatsoever, despite having months to provide some.”
Ahmad also said Rewcastle Brown was ordered to pay Hadi two-thirds of his costs for the exercise.
She has to pay £15,000 (RM83,700) to Hadi now, with the quantum of the balance to be assessed by the court in due course, he said.
“This is a very positive development for TGHA in his bid to clear his name of the allegations by CRB and Sarawak Report in their article,” Ahmad said.
He said the court also ordered Rewcastle Brown to submit her defence within 21 days.
A request to appeal the judgment by her lawyers was disallowed by the court, he added.
Ahmad said Hadi was also informed by Carter-Ruck that the Malaysian high commission in London had sent representatives to the hearing.
He said they informed Carter-Ruck that they were there to observe the proceedings as many political allegations were made against prime minister Najib Razak, the Malaysian government and the Malaysian judiciary by Rewcastle Brown in documents that she was filing in the court.
Ahmad said the suit, filed on April 21 at the London High Court, was in relation to an article Rewcastle Brown wrote in August 2016.
It has been reported that Sarawak Report ran an article in which it claimed RM90 million was “reckoned” to have entered the accounts of top PAS leaders to woo them into supporting Umno and Barisan Nasional.('London Courts Accept Hadi's Offer in Suit Against SR Editor.' – Free Malaysia Today, August 5, 2017)
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1. LONDON COURT FAVOURS HADI IN CASE MANAGEMENT IN SUIT AGAINST CLARE REWCASTLE-BROWN
2. RELATED: CLARE LOST PRE-TRIAL CASE AS LONDON COURT TRUSTS MALAYSIAN SYSTEM
3. RELATED: LONDON COURTS ACCEPT HADI'S OFFER IN SUIT AGAINST SR EDITOR
4.
5. RELATED: WHO'S FOOTING THE BILL FOR HADI'S COSTLY UK SUIT, ASKS REWCASTLE-BROWN
6. RELATED: SARAWAK REPORT REACHES GBP£30,000 LEGAL FUND GOAL
6. RELATED: SARAWAK REPORT REACHES GBP£30,000 LEGAL FUND GOAL
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RELATED: PERKEMBANGAN POSITIF KES SAMAN SARAWAK REPORT DI LONDON
CRB [menjangka kos] dalam lingkungan jumlah keseluruhan £800,000 pound (hampir RM4.5 juta) sehingga kes tamat.
REPORTED BY HARAKAH DAILY
(AUGUST 5, 2017) –
Pada Rabu 2 Ogos 2017, pasukan peguam dari firma Carter-Ruck dan barrister Jacob Dean, yang mewakili Dato' Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang (TGHA) dalam saman fitnah yang diambil terhadap Clare Rewcastle Brown (CRB), di London Courts, telah menghadiri prosiding mahkamah untuk pendengaran prosiding pengurusan kes.
Saman sivil oleh TGHA itu adalah berkaitan dengan artikel yang ditulis oleh CRB pada Ogos 2016, yang memberi gambaran tuduhan dan difahami dengan jelas adalah satu fitnah, melalui tuduhan bahawa TGHA menerima rasuah dari Perdana Menteri Malaysia Dato' Seri Najib dengan nilaiannya RM90 juta.
Pendengaran pengurusan kes pada hari berkenaan adalah untuk menentukan usaha CRB bagi memaksa TGHA untuk mendepositkan sejumlah wang di mahkamah sebagai jaminan keselamatan, sekiranya TGHA kalah dalam kes berkenaan dan terpaksa membayar kos guaman CRB, di mana CRB menjangkanya dalam lingkungan jumlah keseluruhan £800,000 pound (hampir RM4.5 juta) sehingga kes tamat.
Panel peguam TGHA dari Carter-Ruck berjaya berhujah, dengan dibantu oleh pandangan pakar undang-undang dari Malaysia, bahawa sebenarnya wujud undang-undang yang jelas yang tidak menghalang CRB untuk menuntut kos beliau menerusi mahkamah Malaysia sekiranya beliau menang kes saman ini dan jumlahnya tidak melebihi RM80,000 sahaja. Di atas keyakinan dari awal terhadap kes ini, maka TGHA bersetuju dengan deposit keselamatan dengan jumlah ini yang nyata adalah memadai serta tidak kontroversi.
Hujah CRB bahawa beliau akan gagal membawa kes saman terhadap TGHA di Malaysia adalah kerana Badan Kehakiman, Kerajaan Malaysia dan Perdana Menteri adalah mengamalkan rasuah dan bersekongkol dengan TGHA telah ditolak oleh mahkamah di London. Mahkamah juga mendapati bahawa tuduhan serius ini tidak disokong bukti oleh CRB walaupun beliau mempunyai masa berbulan-bulan untuk berbuat demikian.
Mahkamah juga tidak menerima hujahan CRB tanpa membawa bukti, bahawa sebuah negara luar berdaulat yang mempunyai hubungan diplomatik yang baik dengan United Kingdom telah mengamalkan rasuah.
Mahkamah juga telah menerima tawaran TGHA untuk meletakkan wang sebanyak RM80,000 sebagai deposit keselamatan.
Hasil dari hujah kosong dalam permohonan CRB, mahkamah juga telah mengarahkan beliau membayar 2/3 (dua pertiga) dari kos yang terlibat. CRB mesti membayar £15,000 (hampir RM84,000) terhadap kos prosiding oleh TGHA, di mana kuantum pembayarannya akan di pantau oleh mahkamah.
Mahkamah juga mengarahkan CRB untuk membuat pembelaan beliau dalam tempoh 21 hari supaya kes ini dapat diteruskan dan beliau tidak lagi berlarutan untuk berdolak dalih.
Permohonan rayuan CRB terhadap keputusan ini juga telah tidak dbenarkan oleh mahkamah.
Perkembangan ini adalah sangat positif, dalam proses TGHA untuk membersihkan nama beliau terhadap tuduhan fitnah melampau oleh CRB dan artikelnya dalam Sarawak Report.
TGHA mengucapkan tahniah dan penghargaan kepada Mr Adam Tudor dan pasukan peguamnya dari Carter-Ruck, London dan di Malaysia.
TGHA juga mengucapkan jutaan terima kasih pada semua ahli PAS dan orang awam yang berterusan memberikan sokongan melalui berbagai cara dalam kes ini.
TGHA juga sebenarnya dimaklumkan oleh firma Carter-Ruck bahawa Pejabat Pesuruhjaya Tinggi Malaysia di London juga menghantar wakil dalam prosiding ini, dan telah memaklumkan bahawa kehadiran mereka adalah sebagai pemerhati prosiding kerana banyak tuduhan politik yang dibuat terhadap Perdana Menteri dan Kerajaan Malaysia serta Badan Kehakiman di Malaysia oleh CRB dalam dokumen beliau yang dikemukakan ke mahkamah.('Perkembangan Positif Kes Saman Sarawak Report di London.' – August 5, 2017)
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1. LONDON COURT FAVOURS HADI IN CASE MANAGEMENT IN SUIT AGAINST CLARE REWCASTLE-BROWN
2. RELATED: CLARE LOST PRE-TRIAL CASE AS LONDON COURT TRUSTS MALAYSIAN SYSTEM
3. RELATED: LONDON COURTS ACCEPT HADI'S OFFER IN SUIT AGAINST SR EDITOR
4. RELATED: PERKEMBANGAN POSITIF KES SAMAN SARAWAK REPORT DI LONDON
5.
6. RELATED: SARAWAK REPORT REACHES GBP£30,000 LEGAL FUND GOAL
6. RELATED: SARAWAK REPORT REACHES GBP£30,000 LEGAL FUND GOAL
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RELATED: WHO'S FOOTING THE BILL FOR HADI'S COSTLY UK SUIT, ASKS REWCASTLE-BROWN
With less than three weeks to enter her defence, she said Hadi's lawyer in the UK had so far refused to reveal who was paying for the case.
REPORTED BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
('Who's Footing the Bill for Hadi's Costly UK Suit, Asks Rewcastle-Brown.' – The Malaysian Insight, August 6, 2017) With less than three weeks to enter her defence, she said Hadi's lawyer in the UK had so far refused to reveal who was paying for the case.
REPORTED BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
(AUGUST 6, 2017) –
Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown, who is being sued for defamation by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, is wondering where the money for his legal expenses are coming from, as it is not cheap to file such a suit in the UK.
The London-based journalist is being sued over her article that appeared on the whistleblower site last August that alleged Hadi had received RM90 million in bribes from Prime Minister Najib Razak in return for support.
With less than three weeks to enter her defence, she said Hadi's lawyer in the UK had so far refused to reveal who was paying for the case.
"Nor have they explained why their client is suing in London and not in KL (Kuala Lumpur), where more than a handful of people have at least heard of Hadi Awang.
"Perhaps Hadi can reveal if it is he or his party who is footing the bill for this expensive case, which by just this stage can be estimated to have cost him around £100,000, or RM600,000?" she said in an email response to The Malaysian Insight.
Rewcastle-Brown posed the question after the court in London accepted Hadi's offer last week to pay RM80,000 in deposit as security in the event he loses his defamation suit.
She said during case management proceedings on August 2, several officials from the Malaysian High Commission had attended to listen and take notes while nobody from PAS was present, adding that she found this suspicious.
Hadi's political secretary Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar had explained the presence of high commission officials in a press statement yesterday.
“The Malaysian High Commission in London sent representatives to attend, … to observe the proceedings as many political allegations were made against the Prime Minister of Malaysia, the government of Malaysia and the judiciary in Malaysia by Clare Rewcastle-Brown in documents that she is filing into court,” he said.
Rewcastle-Brown said this made her “relish” the prospect of taking on Hadi in court as it would give her the opportunity to “bring out all the evidence about the situation of major public interest which I have reported about in Malaysia – including what I have disclosed and will further disclose about the 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Bhd) case and where the money has gone”.
"As for the explanation for the High Commission’s presence, yes, I am certainly alleging there is corruption at the very top in Malaysia," she said.
The Sarawak Report editor had attempted to make the court force Hadi to pay a deposit as security, should he lose in his defamation suit against her.
The court decided that Rewcastle-Brown should pay Hadi £15,000 (RM83,700), or two-thirds of the cost of her application, with the quantum of the balance to be assessed by the court in due course.
The court did not accept her argument that she would not be able to successfully bring a legal suit against Hadi in Malaysia, where the "judiciary, government and the Prime Minister are corrupted and are complicit with him".
Hadi offered to pay a RM80,000 deposit, which the court accepted.
Rewcastle-Brown, however, told The Malaysian Insight that the London court did not find that the Malaysian courts were not corrupt.
"The (London) court has not made any finding other than, at this stage, that Hadi has to pay a deposit of £14,400 (almost RM80,000) as security for the costs of enforcing a judgement against him in Malaysia if he loses.
"The court awarded two-thirds of the costs of this application – £15,000 – because Hadi had offered to pay £14,400 as security for costs earlier. The court has said that another application for security can be made," she said.
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1. LONDON COURT FAVOURS HADI IN CASE MANAGEMENT IN SUIT AGAINST CLARE REWCASTLE-BROWN
2. RELATED: CLARE LOST PRE-TRIAL CASE AS LONDON COURT TRUSTS MALAYSIAN SYSTEM
3. RELATED: LONDON COURTS ACCEPT HADI'S OFFER IN SUIT AGAINST SR EDITOR
4. RELATED: PERKEMBANGAN POSITIF KES SAMAN SARAWAK REPORT DI LONDON
5. RELATED: WHO'S FOOTING THE BILL FOR HADI'S COSTLY UK SUIT, ASKS REWCASTLE-BROWN
5. RELATED: WHO'S FOOTING THE BILL FOR HADI'S COSTLY UK SUIT, ASKS REWCASTLE-BROWN
6.
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RELATED: SARAWAK REPORT REACHES GBP30,000 LEGAL FUND GOAL
The amount was raised in just three days through crowdfunding platform Crowd Justice. At the time of writing, GB£30,452 has been raised through 615 contributors.
REPORTED BY MALAYSIAKINI
(JUNE 25, 2017) –
Whistleblower website Sarawak Report has raised over GB£30,000 (RM160,000) for its legal fund to fend itself from a suit by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.
The amount was raised in just three days through crowdfunding platform Crowd Justice. At the time of writing, GB£30,452 has been raised through 615 contributors.
In April, Abdul Hadi filed a defamation suit against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcatle-Brown at the High Court in London.
Abdul Hadi sued the writer over a Sarawak Report article which suggested that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had channelled RM90 million to PAS, an allegation which the party denies.('Sarawak Report Reaches GBP30,000 Legal Fund Goal.' – Malaysiakini, June 25, 2017)
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The NINE QUESTIONS Blog will return with more facts.
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