Blogger Papa Gomo loses defamation suit, ordered to pay Anwar RM800,000
The Malaysian Insider – 1 hour 38 minutes agoRELATED CONTENT
- Papa Gomo loses defamation suit, ordered to pay Anwar RM800,000
Blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris or Papa Gomo was ordered to pay RM800,000 by the High Court in damages for defaming parliamentary opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today.
Judicial commissioner Rosilah Yop in her ruling also said she found that Wan Azri is Papa Gomo.
Rosilah also allowed a permanent injunction by Anwar to restraint Wan Azri from repeating his libellous allegation in his blog.
She also ordered RM50,000 in costs to Anwar.
Anwar filed the suit on March 21, 2013, claiming that Wan Azri had posted four series of defamatory words on his website on March 16, 17, 19 and 20.
In his statement of claim, Anwar had said that Wan Azri had also set a weblink of pictures which allegedly were of him.
In his defence, Wan Azri denied that he was the owner of the "Papa Gomo" blog. He told the court that it was the opposition leaders who had now defamed him.
Wan Azri told the court that he did not know the identity of Papa Gomo who allegedly posted on the blog defamatory words against the opposition leader and linking Anwar with another man in a sex video.
He said the suit was filed because the PKR de facto leader believed that he posted articles and images of Anwar in the Papa Gomo blog.
Anwar's lead counsel, N. Surendran, said the quantum of damages awarded to his client was the highest in the series of suits the opposition leader had won.
"The verdict is a clear message that one has to pay dearly for injuring the reputation of another individual of public standing," he said.
Surendran, who also Padang Serai MP, said the calculated libellous act against Anwar was done just before the general election last May. – February 28, 2014.
