Actors Eizlan Yusof, Hans Isaac told to settle RM2mil suit out of court

 

Eizlan Yusof is suing Hans Isaac over allegations of abuse of power to obtain funds for a production company.

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today proposed that the RM2 million suit filed by Malaysian National Film Development Corporation (Finas) board member and actor, Eizlan Yusof, against Hans Isaac be referred to the mediation centre for amicable settlement.

Eizlan, 50, whose real name is Idris Md Yusof, filed a suit against former Finas chairman, Gerald Hans Isaac or Hans Isaac, 50, in relation to allegations of abuse of power to obtain funds for a production company, Excellent Pictures Sdn Bhd (EPSB).

Lawyer Shaharudin Ali, who represented Eizlan, when contacted by reporters, said that Judge Azimah Omar suggested that both parties refer the suit to the High Court mediation centre, or by any other way to resolve the issue.

“During today’s proceeding, the court also set Aug 12 for further case management to update developments on the matter (settlement),” he said, adding that the online proceeding was also attended by another of Eizlan’s lawyer, Noor Azfar Azmi, while lawyer Isa Aziz Ibrahim was representing Hans Isaac.

In his statement of claim, filed on Feb 8, Eizlan claimed that on Nov 16, 2020, at 9.13pm, Hans Isaac had purportedly written, published and posted a defamatory statement on the “Persatuan Penerbit Filem Malaysia” (Malaysian Film Producers Association) WhatsApp group chat, comprising 200 members including film and television drama producers as well as art industry activists, which was later circulated to other social media platforms.

Eizlan claimed that the defamatory statement, among others, insinuated that he took advantage of his position as Finas board member to illegally obtain financial assistance from the government for EPSB, while he had nothing to do with the company in any capacity and action. The insinuation made by the defendant had caused him to lose his dignity, and be insulted and shunned by the general public.

The plaintiff, among others, is seeking RM 2 million in general damages, as well as aggravated and exemplary damages, interest and costs, apart from demanding that the defendant issue an apology.

Hans Isaac, in his statement of defence filed on March 17, said that the plaintiff’s claim that he had nothing to do with EPSB was untrue because, although the plaintiff did not have any position or shares in the company, he had acted in films and drama series produced by the company.

The defendant claimed that he only sent the statement to the WhatsApp group which is a closed group and any information or anything circulated outside the chat group is the responsibility of the group admins as they had created the group. - FMT