Court of Appeal today allowed Muhammad Yusoff Rawther to withdraw his appeal to expunge part of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s statement of defence against his sexual assault suit.
However, the three-person bench chaired by Lee Swee Seng also ordered the former research assistant to pay RM5,000 in costs to the Pakatan Harapan chairperson for the last-minute withdrawal – which was only informed last month.
Yusoff’s (above) civil action - still pending at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur - is over an allegation that Anwar had sexually assaulted him at the PKR president’s office in October 2018.
The appellant was appealing against the lower court decision on Sept 9 last year which denied his application to remove parts of Anwar’s defence as well as the entirety of the latter’s counterclaim against the former.
The portion of Anwar’s defence that was the target of the attempted expungement was paragraphs detailing allegations that Yusoff had expressed views that were pro-Israel.
Yusoff had also sought to strike out the entirety of Anwar’s counterclaim against him over allegations that the counterclaim was vague and an abuse of the court process.
During online proceedings this morning, the appellate bench was informed by Yusoff’s counsel Reenajit Kaur Golen that the appellant wrote to the court on March 6 to notify about the withdrawal of the appeal.
The lawyer told the panel - also comprised of judges Hashim Hamzah and Lim Chong Fong - that they seek no order as to costs over the withdrawal.
However, Anwar’s counsel Navpreet Singh disagreed and sought for Yusoff to bear RM5,000 in costs as the intention to retract the appeal was notified at the last minute.
The counsel for the Tambun MP pointed out that they had already prepared voluminous draft written submissions and other documentation for the appeal hearing.
The appellate panel then allowed the appeal withdrawal with an order for Yusoff to pay RM5,000 in costs to Anwar.
Yusoff came into the limelight on Dec 4, 2018, during a press conference where he revealed his statutory declaration containing the sexual assault allegation against Anwar.
The Attorney-General’s Chamber announced on Jan 14, 2020, that there was a lack of evidence to charge Anwar at the criminal court over the allegation. Later in July 2021, Yusoff filed the lawsuit at the civil court.
In his statement of claim, Yusoff is seeking a declaration that Anwar had perpetrated sexual assault and/or trespass against him.
He is also seeking RM180 per therapy session, exemplary damages, court costs, five percent per annum interest on any possible judgment sum and other miscellaneous costs or damages.
In his statement of defence and counterclaim filed in Sept 2021, Anwar rubbished the sexual assault allegation as “false and fabricated” as well as driven by an intent to “tarnish Anwar's political image and to ensure that Anwar did not become prime minister”.
The lawsuit is set to come up for case management before the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday next week. - Mkini
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