KUALA LUMPUR (May 19): Controversial blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris was ordered by the court to pay RM280,000 to Lim Guan Eng and his son over a defamatory Facebook post six years ago.
The impugned posting falsely alleged that Guan Eng had flown to Singapore around Feb 29, 2020 after Way Chau was detained in a neighbouring country’s airport and had taken RM2 million in undeclared cash.
High Court judge Roslan Mat Nor on Tuesday found that despite denials, Muhammad Azri was the publisher of the impugned statement and the online influencer's defence of justification and fair comments cannot stand.
The defamatory statement, the judge said, had lowered Guan Eng's standing in the public eye.
The court awarded RM200,000 in damages and RM30,000 in cost for Guan Eng, while his son was awarded RM80,000 in damages and RM10,000 in cost.
Muhammad Azri is Papagomo
Testifying in his defence during the trial, Muhammad Azri said that the post appeared on a Facebook account "Papa Azri" that he claimed was a fanpage. He said that he did not maintain that account and also denied that he was 'Papagomo'.
However, the court took into consideration the testimony of Sinar Harian reporter Noor Azlida Alimin who frequently reported on 'Papagomo' and had affirmed that Muhammad Azri was the man behind the controversial figure.
In Tuesday's decision, Roslan ruled that Muhammad Azri is 'Papagomo' and was the person behind the fanpage Papa Azri.
Reading his judgement for about an hour and half, the judge noted that Guan Eng and Muhammad Azri frequent political disagreements and feuds were immaterial to the case, as he has to only assess the evidence before him.
To an ordinary reader, the judge found, the offending statement implied that Guan Eng had used his power and influence to "save" his son given his role then as an active politician, a lawmaker, and a former minister and ex-chief minister.
Muhammad Azri also failed in his defence of justification, Roslan said.
He ought to have verified the veracity of the information, the judge said, even with the claim that the post was merely a re-publishing of information already in circulation.
"[Those] who repost [on social media] also have the same responsibility as the [original] publisher. You can't repost without verifying [the information] first," he said.
Further, the defence of fair comment also could not stand as the matter was not of public interest, Roslan ruled.
Court praises late trial judge’s integrity
During the trial, Guan Eng testified that then-inspector general of police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador had already denied the allegations that Way Chau was detained at the Changi Airport.
On his part, Way Chau also testified that he was employed in Singapore as a property analyst and had re-entered the country more than a week before the date stated in the impugned post. He also denied being anywhere near the airport's vicinity at the time of the alleged incident.
The case was originally filed in Penang court in 2020 but was transferred to Kuala Lumpur in 2021.
The plaintiffs were seeking around RM 3 million in damages as a deterrent, arguing that this was not the first time that the blogger had published false statements against Guan Eng and his family.
The case was originally overseen by the late judicial commissioner Eddie Yeo Soon Chye before he passed away in February this year. Yeo presided over the entire proceedings but passed away before a decision was delivered.
Roslan then took over the case, with both parties agreeing that the new judge could decide based on the notes of proceedings. At the onset of proceedings on Tuesday, Roslan praised the late Yeo, pointing out that his notes of proceedings were thorough and in line with his integrity.
Guan Eng and his son were represented by Simon Murali of Simon Murali & Co. Logen Eskandar of Fazilah, Logen & Associates appeared for Muhammad Azri.
It is understood that Muhammad Azri will appeal against the decision and file an application to pause the execution of the decision.