Bersatu rep sues lawyer of alleged rape victim

 

Gombak Setia assemblyperson Muhammad Hilman Idham has filed a defamation suit against a lawyer who represents an alleged rape victim.

The Bersatu Gombak division youth chief is suing Asheeq Ali Sethi Alivi over the latter’s press conference held on Aug 11 last year.

On that date, the media reported the lawyer claiming the police then had yet to act on his client’s report alleging she was raped by two men with purported links to Hilman (above).

It was previously reported that the woman submitted alleged evidence to the police over the purported incident.

According to copies of the present civil action sighted by Malaysiakini, the assemblyperson’s lawyers, from law firm Hafiz Ruzaini & Co, filed the lawsuit at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Dec 12 last year.

Through the suit’s statement of claim, Hilman alleged that Asheeq made a defamatory statement during the media briefing held in front of the Bukit Aman police headquarters.

Via the public document, the plaintiff claimed that the purported defamatory statement was published online by several media outlets such as Sinar Harian, Free Malaysia Today, The Malaysian Insight, and Malaysiakini.

Hilman claimed that the lawyer’s statement was a form of defamation with the intent to negatively affect the former’s reputation.

The plaintiff claimed that the statement made during the press conference had linked him to the purported rape incident.

“The plaintiff also states that the statement had directly and/or indirectly given the wrong picture and adverse as well as negative public perception against the plaintiff as the people’s representative and Selangor state assemblyperson.

“As a consequence of the overall action originating from the statement as well as its publication, the plaintiff had suffered severe fall in reputation and indirectly had jeopardised the plaintiff’s image and credibility as a politician, people’s representative, Selangor state assemblyperson, and government staff.

“As a consequence of the statement, the plaintiff was faced with the difficult and/or added burden to the plaintiff to deny every defamatory statement before the people who vote in the plaintiff’s state constituency, the community (around the) plaintiff, the plaintiff’s family, and society as a whole,” Hilman contended.

Lawyer Asheeq Ali Sethi Alivi

The plaintiff won the Gombak Setia state seat in Selangor on a Pakatan Harapan ticket during the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018.

However, Hilman later crossed over from Harapan to Perikatan Nasional (PN) when he left PKR for Bersatu. He previously held the post of deputy chief of PKR's youth wing.

Asheeq is currently a PKR member.

The plaintiff is also the political secretary of International Trade and Industry Minister Azmin Ali and PN Youth’s information chief.

Hilman claimed that two days after the press conference last year, his lawyers issued a letter of demand to Asheeq.

They sought an immediate open apology, retraction of the alleged defamatory statement, an undertaking not to repeat further alleged defamatory statements, and compensation of RM500,000.

The plaintiff alleged, however, that until today, the defendant still failed to abide by the letter of demand.

Through the civil action, Hilman is seeking general, special, aggravated, and/or exemplary damages.

The plaintiff seeks several court orders, among them for the defendant to retract the alleged defamatory statement; to issue an open apology per terms to be determined by the plaintiff and to be carried on the defendant’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts; and to make an undertaking not to repeat the alleged defamatory statement.

When contacted by Malaysiakini, Asheeq confirmed that his lawyers have entered an appearance for him at court in relation to the defamation suit against him.

“I will defend myself in court. We will file the (statement of) defence (against the civil action) in due course,” the defendant said today.

According to the online cause list, the legal action is set for online case management before the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court Registry at 9am next Monday (Jan 10). - Mkini