High Court rules that the lawyer failed to prove his case against the Isma activist.
Justice Zaki Abdul Wahab ruled that Paulsen had failed to prove his case on the balance of probability against activist Mohamed Hafiz Mohamed Nordin.
“He has failed to show that the statement uttered by Hafiz had lowered his reputation in society and that it caused the public to look down on him,” he said in his short oral judgment, adding that the court also accepted Hafiz’s defence of justification and fair comment.
Justice Zaki also awarded costs of RM20,000 to Hafiz.
In an immediate response, fellow lawyer Latheefa Koya, who represented Paulsen, said they will appeal against today’s decision.
Lawyers Ahmad Kamal Abu Bakar and Arik Zakri Abdul Kadir represented Hafiz.
Paulsen’s defamation suit started when Muslim rights group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) sued him in 2015 for his allegation that it is an “extremist” group.
Paulsen had filed a counter claim in October the same year against Isma and also Hafiz for publishing an article, “Jangan biar Eric Paulsen bebas tanpa perbicaraan” (“Do not let Eric Paulsen free without a trial”) on their website for implying he is a liar and instigator.
Isma and Paulsen entered into a consent judgment in March last year, with both agreeing to withdraw the main suit and counter claim.
However, Paulsen’s suit against Hafiz proceeded for trial as the Islamic activist did not agree to the terms of the settlement. -FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.