A defamation suit filed by a national diver against Utusan Malaysia has been fixed for trial by the Kuala Lumpur High Court from Nov 26 to 30.

This follows the publication of an article titled "Rogol, doping buat (name) tertekan" (Rape, doping put [name] under pressure) that was published on Oct 5, last year.

The court dates were fixed by Justice Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab following case management today.

It is understood that attempts to mediate the suit have failed.

Utusan, also known as Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd, was represented by Azhar Arman Ali, while K Revanthi appeared for the plaintiff.

The diver filed the suit in March against Utusan claiming the headline and article put her in a bad light, were misleading and subject to misinterpretation.

The article’s headline, which mentions her name, is false and inaccurate, and is out to sensationalise the news, the diver claimed.

She claimed the newspaper had intentionally used her name and image to sensationalise the report, which appeared in the publication’s print and online editions.

The article, the national diver claimed, had damaged her reputation and integrity as a diver, and also tarnished Malaysia's reputation.

She claimed that the article, by false innuendo, suggests she is involved in doping and immoral activity.

Following this, the diver is seeking general, special, exemplary damages and the costs of the action.

Meanwhile, Utusan's defence filed in April, cited that the article is not defamatory if read as a whole or by innuendo, and there is no mention or suggestion that the diver was involved in doping or immoral activities.

Nowhere in the article, Utusan said, does it suggest that the national diver is a rape victim.

It further denied that the publication of the article was to sensationalise the news. The newspaper organisation further claimed that it has a recording of its journalist’s conversation with the plaintiff and would produce the recording and the transcript during the trial.

Due to the nature of the case, Malaysiakini is withholding details to protect the plaintiff’s identity.