High Court orders TikTok account holder pay RM100,000 to Rosmah for defamation
Judge Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh ordered Ku Muhammad Hilmie Ku Din, 35, to pay the amount to Rosmah, after finding that the plaintiff had successfully established her entitlement to damages for defamation.
'This court finds a global award in the sum of RM100,000 for general and aggravated damages. This court has decided not to award exemplary damages.
'The claim for exemplary damages is not allowed as there is no cogent evidence before this court to support such an award,' he said during the decision for the assessment of damages today. The proceeding was held online.
The court ordered interest of five per cent per annum on the judgment sum to be imposed from the date of judgment until full satisfaction of the award.
Ku Muhammad Hilmie Ku Din, 35, was also ordered to pay costs of RM20,000.
In his judgment, Ahmad Shahrir said the court found that the defamatory allegations levelled against Rosmah impute her involvement in supernatural practices and associate her with spiritual entities.
'These imputations constitute an attack on her character in the domains of religious integrity and moral standing.
'In a societal context where religious values and moral propriety carry significant weight, such allegations assume a particular seriousness and have the potential to cause distinct reputational harm,' he said.
Ahmad Shahrir said he had considered the judicial trend towards moderation in damages, describing it as compensatory in nature and not intended to be punitive.
The judge said that although Rosmah had been convicted by the High Court over the RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project in Sarawak, and she is currently appealing at the Court of Appeal, damages in a defamation claim must be assessed without reference to that conviction.
Ahmad Shahrir said her conviction cannot be relied upon as evidence of bad character for the purpose of reducing the quantum of damages.
During the proceedings today, counsel Datuk Abu Bakar Isa Ramat and Mohamed Baharuden Mohamed Ariff appeared for Rosmah.
On May 28 last year, Rosmah, 73, obtained a judgment in default from the High Court against Ku Muhammad Hilmie after he failed to respond to the suit within the stipulated timeframe.
Rosmah, who filed the suit on Sept 19, 2023, alleged that Ku Muhammad Hilmie uploaded a video on his TikTok account containing defamatory and false statements against her on March 22, 2023.
She claimed that the defamatory statement, among others, implied that she had committed sinful acts, was associated with activities involving the devil, bomoh (shaman) and an evil individual who engages in syirik (idolatrous) practices.
Rosmah contended that the publication of the statements seriously damaged her reputation as the wife of Malaysia's sixth prime minister and as a patron of various charitable organisations. — BERNAMA
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