“You have been sued for making defamatory  posts on Facebook?”

CASE FACT: SUHAIMI v AMIR [2020] MLJU  805

The plaintiff and his wife are partners with the  defendant in a business in JLA Company. The  plaintiff made a claim against the defendant  regarding several posts on “Facebook”.  According to the plaintiff, the posting has  defamed the plaintiff and caused the plaintiff  to suffer damage in terms of his reputation  and suffer losses where the plaintiff’s business is not going smoothly.

However, the  defendant denied that the posting referred to  the plaintiff or his job or related to his  conduct in carrying out his job as claimed by  the plaintiff.

In this case, the defendant has  also initiated legal action against the plaintiff  that the plaintiff has committed fraud and  embezzled JLA Company’s money amounting  to 7 million. 

COURT DECISION: SUHAIMI v AMIR [2020]  MLJU 805

The court has found that the plaintiff has  failed to prove his claim against the defendant  on a balance of probabilities that the  statement posted on Facebook is defame against the plaintiff. Therefore, the Court has  also rejected the plaintiff’s claim against the  defendant with costs of RM20,000 subject to  allocator.

However, the defendant’s legal  action against the plaintiff, the court allowed  it because it was satisfied and ensured that  the defendant had successfully proved that  the plaintiff had committed fraud and forgery  and embezzled JLA Company’s money  amounting to 7 million.

THE ELEMENTS OF DEFAMATION THAT NEED  TO BE FULFILLED

1) The conversation or written statement is  defamatory, 

2) The conversation or written statement  refers to yourself, not someone else, 

3) The conversation or written statement is  delivered to the third party.

Are those three elements fulfilled? Let’s contact us to discuss with a lawyer for further action.

What about the compensation or damages  that will be received if you win the  defamation case?

There is no fixed formula in determining the  value of compensation or damages to be  received. All damages will be determined by  the court according to various factors such as:

1) the claimant’s reputation, 

2) the level of seriousness and impact that  comes from the slanderous statement,

3) the existence of any malice, and 

4) whether the defendant has made an  apology.

Want to know more about this case law?  Contact us now! 

“Your Lawyer & Rescuer!” 

 Contact us at:  

https://wa.me/60123640086

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