Gombak Setia assemblyperson Muhammad Hilman Idham contended in a court filing that he had never been investigated or charged in court over rape allegations involving two Bersatu members.
The Bersatu member made this claim in an affidavit in support of an application to strike out parts of lawyer Asheeq Ali Sethi Alivi’s statement of defence against his defamation suit.
Former PKR member Hilman (above) is suing Asheeq, who happens to be a PKR member, for defamation over the latter’s press conference on Aug 11 last year.
On that date, the media reported lawyer Asheeq as claiming the police had yet to act on his client’s report alleging she was raped by two men with purported links to Hilman, who is the Gombak Bersatu Youth chief.
It was previously reported that the woman submitted alleged evidence to the police over the purported incident.
It was reported that in his statement of defence, Asheeq is ready to prove the allegations in court when the suit goes for hearing.
According to a copy of Hilman’s affidavit sighted by Malaysiakini, the assemblyperson is seeking to strike out the portion of the lawyer’s statement of defence touching on rape allegations involving the woman.
The Bersatu member contended that the allegations are mere hearsay and rumours shared by the woman to Asheeq.
Hilman contended that the allegations made reference to him despite “no criminal charges or convictions were made out against me (Hilman) in any court in Malaysia”.
“I emphasise that I have also never been investigated by any authorities over the allegations stated by the defendant,” the plaintiff claimed in the affidavit.
Hilman contended that the allegations in Asheeq’s statement of defence amounted to an abuse of court process, as the claims allegedly are irrelevant to the former’s defamation suit against the lawyer.
The plaintiff also claimed that there is an element of bias in the allegations as there allegedly exists a possibility of a “scheme of arrangement” between the lawyer and the woman to try to prove the allegations in the statement of defence.
Hilman also contended that the impugned allegations are embarrassing, frivolous and vexatious, claiming that the allegations were not only untrue but done with malicious intent.
On Dec 12 last year, Hilman’s counsel from law firm Hafiz Ruzaini & Co filed the civil action.
Through the suit’s statement of claim, the lawmaker alleged that Asheeq made a defamatory statement during the media briefing held in front of the Bukit Aman police headquarters, on Aug 11 last year.
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 PN when he left PKR for Bersatu. He previously held the post of PKR Youth deputy chief.
The plaintiff is also Perikatan Nasional (PN) Youth information chief as well as political secretary to International Trade and Industry Minister Azmin Ali. Azmin is Bersatu’s Gombak parliamentary representative. - Mkini
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