A month’s jail for man who failed to apologise to MP

 Social media user S Murugesan was sentenced in absentia for failing to make a public apology and retract his remarks against Jelutong MP RSN Rayer.

The sessions court held the man to be in contempt of court for failing to obey the orders of a defamation judgment over allegations regarding funds of the Hindu endowments board. (File pic)

GEORGE TOWN:

A social media user has been sentenced to a month in jail for contempt of court after failing to make a public apology and retract statements he made against the MP for Jelutong, RSN Rayer.

The man, S Murugesan, 50, was found in contempt of court on Thursday for failing, refusing or defying the court’s judgment against him on May 22 in a defamation case brought by Rayer. He was also ordered to pay RM3,000 in costs.

Rayer’s lawyer K Kumarathiraviam said an application for a warrant of arrest had been filed and was expected to be issued tomorrow.

He said sessions court judge Norsalha Hamzah held Murugesan to be in contempt of court for failing to carry out the May 22 judgment in which he was to publish an apology and retraction in two newspapers and on his WhatsApp, TikTok and Facebook accounts. He was also prohibited from making further defamatory statements against Rayer.

However, Kumarathiraviam said Murugesan had neither issued an unconditional apology nor retracted the statements as ordered.

He said Murugesan had posted another video on the evening of May 22, shortly after the judgment was delivered, and made another statement two days later, particularly concerning Rayer’s role as chairman of the Penang Hindu Endowments Board (PHEB).

In May, the court awarded Rayer RM100,000 in damages and RM4,000 in costs over videos circulated on social media in September 2024 which implied that he had stolen PHEB funds and intended to misuse more money. - FMT