May 7 case management for Rewcastle-Brown's defamation appeal

 

The Kuala Terengganu High Court today fixed May 7 for case management of an appeal by founder and editor of Sarawak Report Clare Rewcastle-Brown to set aside her conviction and two-year prison sentence for defaming Terengganu’s Sultanah Nur Zahirah.

High Court Deputy Registrar Nordiana Abd Aziz set the date when the case came up for mention today.

Lawyer Guok Ngek Seong, representing Rewcastle-Brown, told Bernama he would apply for the appeal proceedings to be conducted in absentia (without the presence of the accused) on the grounds that his client, who is a British citizen, is not in Malaysia.

Previously, the trial of the case in the Magistrates’ Court was also conducted without the presence of the accused.

On Feb 7, Rewcastle-Brown was sentenced to two years in prison by the Magistrates’ Court after finding her guilty of defaming Sultanah Nur Zahirah under Section 500 of the Penal Code.

According to the charges, Rewcastle-Brown, who has a London, United Kingdom address, wrote a book titled “The Sarawak Report - The Inside Story of 1MDB Expose” which allegedly contains accusations against the sultanah. 

The specific defamatory content, highlighted on page three, paragraph four, and line seven, was the phrase “the wife of the sultan”, which was deemed a deliberate act aimed at tarnishing the reputation of Sultanah Nur Zahirah.

She was charged with committing the offence at 8am, Sept 14, 2018, at Lot 60048, Taman Chendering Utama.

- Bernama