Court Orders Return of Seized Swatch Watches After Legal Battle
Source: The Rakyat Post
The Swatch Group has won a legal battle against the Malaysian government after its Pride Collection watches were seized by the Home Ministry earlier this year.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that the 172 watches, which were part of the controversial collection, be returned to the watchmaker. The seizure, which took place between May 13 and 15, 2023, was deemed “illegal” by the court, with the seized items valued at RM64,795.
The court gave the Home Ministry 14 days to return the watches to Swatch. The company’s legal team argued that no laws were violated before the official ban on items promoting the LGBT community was enforced in August 2023.
In its ruling, Justice Amarjeet Singh stated that Swatch Group (M) had not broken any laws prior to the ban, and the company was given the option to seek compensation for any potential damages caused by the seizure.
The ruling brings an end to the legal dispute, with Swatch now set to recover its products.
