KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 17): Blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, or better known as Papagomo, has failed to obtain a stay of a High Court judgement in May that had ordered him to pay RM280,000 in damages for defaming former finance minister Lim Guan Eng and his son Clint Lim Way Chau six years ago.
On Thursday, High Court judge Roslan Mat Nor ruled that there are no special circumstances for the court to grant the stay sought by Wan Muhammad Azri.
“There is no evidence to help the court to consider for a stay to be granted. Hence, there exist no special circumstances for this court to grant a stay.
“The defendant’s application is dismissed,” the judge said.
Roslan also ordered Wan Muhammad Azri to pay RM5,000 costs for the dismissal.
In his application for the stay, the blogger cited that he is appealing the May decision to the Court of Appeal (COA) and felt that his chances of the appellate court considering his appeal were good.
However, Roslan said that despite the defendant having filed an application to appeal to the appellate court, it was not a ground for the High Court to grant a stay.
The judge cited that the High Court has full discretion in deciding whether to grant a stay or otherwise, and that filing an appeal to the COA and the defendant feeling he has a good chance are not reasons for the court to consider a stay.
“There must be special circumstances for the court to consider granting a stay, and there is none as stipulated in the defendant’s affidavit,” the judge said.
Wan Muhammad Azri had posted on his Facebook account claiming that Guan Eng had flown to Singapore on Feb 29, 2020, after Way Chau had allegedly been detained in the country’s airport with RM2 million in undeclared cash.
Roslan found that despite the denials, Wan Muhammad Azri was the publisher of the impugned statement, and the online influencer's defence of justification and fair comment cannot stand.
The defamatory statement, the judge said, had lowered Guan Eng's standing in the public’s eye.
The judge said that Wan Muhmmad Azri ought to have verified the veracity of the information, 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," the judge said.
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.
Guan Eng and Way Chau were represented by Simon Murali from Simon Murali & Co, while Norfazilah Jaafar from Norfazilah Jaafar Advocates and Solicitors appeared for Wan Muhammad Azri.