Malaysian journalist fined over tweets
28 April 2012 1:59 PM GMT
Judge Amelia Tee Hong Geok ordered R Nadeswaran, popularly known as 'Citizen Nades', to pay Mohamad Salim Fateh a total of RM 500,000 (about Rs 86 Lakh) in damages, and also granted an injunction to stop Nadeswaran from repeating the defamatory tweets.
This is believed to be the first such case in the country, where damages were awarded for defamatory tweets.
Of the amount, Din RM 300,000 is for general damages and RM 200,000 for aggravated damages.
The judge said that since no defence was filed, there was no dispute that defamatory statements were made which damaged Salim's reputation.
The judge also noted that the defendant's column had a large following and that his Twitter account, with over 4,000 followers and any number of casual drop-ins, would naturally attract heavy traffic.
She ruled that the defendant should have exercised greater care over his tweets knowing that they could and would be seen by many.
Salim, who heads property development firm Gapurna Group of Companies, filed his RM 17 million suit in January last year, alleging that Nadeswaran had defamed him in a tweet on July 2010, implying that he concealed his heritage.
The plaintiff, in his claim, alleged that another defamatory tweet was posted in December 2010, where Nadeswaran had allegedly implied that he was a land thief and that he was involved in illegal land deals.
Nadeswaran's counsel said he will appeal the ruling.
This is believed to be the first such case in the country, where damages were awarded for defamatory tweets.
Of the amount, Din RM 300,000 is for general damages and RM 200,000 for aggravated damages.
The judge said that since no defence was filed, there was no dispute that defamatory statements were made which damaged Salim's reputation.
The judge also noted that the defendant's column had a large following and that his Twitter account, with over 4,000 followers and any number of casual drop-ins, would naturally attract heavy traffic.
She ruled that the defendant should have exercised greater care over his tweets knowing that they could and would be seen by many.
Salim, who heads property development firm Gapurna Group of Companies, filed his RM 17 million suit in January last year, alleging that Nadeswaran had defamed him in a tweet on July 2010, implying that he concealed his heritage.
The plaintiff, in his claim, alleged that another defamatory tweet was posted in December 2010, where Nadeswaran had allegedly implied that he was a land thief and that he was involved in illegal land deals.
Nadeswaran's counsel said he will appeal the ruling.
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