Rewcastle Brown will seek to set aside conviction, says lawyer

 

Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle Brown had instructed her lawyer to file an appeal in the High Court. (AFP pic)

PETALING JAYA: Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle Brown, who was sentenced to two years in jail by a Kuala Terengganu magistrates’ court today for defaming Sultanah Nur Zahirah in her book on 1MDB, is taking steps to set aside the sentence and conviction, her lawyer said.

Guok Ngek Seong said he had received instructions from the London-based journalist to file an appeal in the High Court and at the same time urged the judge to invoke his revisionary power to correct the “grossly illegal and irregular order”.

The application will be filed tomorrow as the magistrate’s decision violates Section 425A (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code,” he told FMT.

Guok said the prosecution did not produce Rewcastle Brown in court in September 2021 and that she was charged in absentia.

“The police knew her whereabouts in London but did not take steps to bring her to Malaysia,” he said.

The lawyer said the trial of accused persons could only proceed in their absence if they had absconded after claiming trial.

“The accused then shall be deemed to have waived his right to be present at the trial,” he added.

Harian Metro reported that magistrate Nik Mohd Tarmizie Nik Mohd Shukri had found her guilty of criminal defamation and handed down the sentence, although she was not present in court.

The court ordered the jail sentence to start today.

Separately, in 2018, the sultanah had filed a defamation suit against Rewcastle Brown, publisher Chong Ton Sin and printer Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd, claiming that the writer had made a disparaging statement in the book.

The Court of Appeal last December allowed her appeal and ordered the three respondents to pay her RM300,000 in damages, jointly or severally.

However, the trio have filed an appeal at the Federal Court.

The sultanah claimed in the suit that a particular statement in the book could be taken to mean she was involved in corrupt practices and had interfered in Terengganu’s administration, besides using her status to influence the establishment of Terengganu Investment Authority or TIA.

She had also claimed that the statement had construed her as having helped businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, to become the adviser of TIA. - FMT