The appellate court today affirmed a ruling, ordering a blogger to pay RM300,000 in damages to Information Communication and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim for defaming the minister in a blog article.

Justice Jefrey Tan Kok Wha, heading a three-member panel in the Court of Appeal, unanimously dismissed blogger Amizudin Ahmat’s appeal over the High Court’s ruling.

Tan, who heard the appeal with justices Mohamed Apandi Ali and Alizatul Khair Osman Khairuddin, also upheld the High Court ruling that the blogger was liable for defamation over the article against Rais.

Reading the broad reasons, Tan said the court was in total agreement with the High Court ruling on the amount of damages amounting to RM300,000, awarded to the minister.

He said it might appear that the amount was high and that was the court’s first impression.

“But, on reflection that the respondent (Rais) was a person of high social standing, while the allegation was most low and foul, the quantum of RM300,000 does not seem to be a high amount,” he said.

However, the quorum in dismissing the appeal, reduced the legal costs that should be paid by the blogger to the minister from RM100,000 to RM50,000 as they found it was high.

Tan also said the court was in total agreement with the High Court ruling that the defence of justification of the publication by the blogger was not made up in the case.

He said the publication of the article was no defence and without the truth of the allegation of rape.

“The only possible truth was on the investigation of rape, but not the truth of rape,” he added.

The panel made the decision after hearing submissions by Rais’ counsel, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah. R Sivarasa acted for the blogger.

On July 19, last year, High Court judge Zabariah Mohd Yusof ordered the blogger to pay RM300,000 in damages to Rais after he was found liable over the defamatory article.

‘Amount for damages reasonable’

She held that the amount for compensatory, aggravated and exemplary damages awarded to Rais was reasonable, considering the facts and nature of the allegation.

In January, last year, Rais, 69, sued Amizudin, 42, who is also Parti Keadilan Rakyat Youth committee member, for defamation over an article posted in the latter’s blog, sharpshooterblogger.blogspot.com, on or about Dec 28, 2010.

In his suit, the minister said the entire words in the Malay language article were malicious and defamatory of him, and the words in the article meant and/or were understood to mean that he was guilty of a serious offence of having raped and capable of murdering his Indonesian maid.

A woman who worked as a maid for him for eight years was later reported by an Indonesian news portal as denying that she had ever been mistreated or raped by her employer.

- Bernama