Kuala Lumpur: Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain, who is suing Wan Azri Wan Deris for defaming him, has now filed committal proceedings against the blogger.
The top cop’s lawyer S Raam Kumar claims Azri, also known as Papagomo, has continued to defame his client on social media despite a High Court injunction issued against him.
Earlier this month, judicial commissioner Gan Techiong issued an interlocutory injunction in favour of Razarudin and ordered that Wan Azri remove several allegedly defamatory postings about the IGP from social media pending the outcome of the suit.
“The ex-parte leave application to cite Wan Azri has been fixed before Gan on Feb 10,” he told FMT, adding that the application was filed last week.
Razarudin filed the suit against Wan Azri on Dec 26 over statements made in videos posted on YouTube and TikTok and shared across various other social media platforms.
Razarudin claims he was described in the videos in derogatory terms and falsely linked to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
He is seeking general, special, aggravated and exemplary damages and an injunction to prevent Wan Azri from making or republishing such statements, either by himself or through persons associated with him.
Razarudin also wants Wan Azri to apologise and withdraw his allegedly defamatory statements from all social media accounts as well as in the mass and online media, wherever they have been published.
The former Umno Youth leader said he is relying on the defences of justification and fair comment to defeat the suit.
In his defence statement filed last week, Wan Azri said Razarudin, a public officer entrusted with national security and public order, must be subjected to public criticism.
“His reputation as a public servant is not protected under existing defamation laws or Article 10 of the Federal Constitution (which guarantees free speech).
Wan Azri, who wants the suit dismissed with costs, also denied being responsible for publishing the defamatory statements on social media as he neither managed its accounts nor had control over them.
