KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here today ruled that controversial preacher Zamri Vinoth Kalimuthu defamed lawyer Siti Kasim and ordered him to pay RM100,000 in damages.
Judge John Lee Kien How said defamatory statements made by Zamri had caused Siti to be shunned, adding that the controversial had no justification for his assertions.
The statement in question referred to a Facebook post where Zamri said Siti Kasim and activist Arun Dorasamy constantly opposed Islam, saying they were enemies of the faith.
Initially, Zamri filed a defamation suit on September 10, 2019 against Arun who accused the preacher of committing several crimes such as assault, criminal breach of trust and rape.
During the trial, Arun’s lawyers subpoenaed a woman on May 10 who lodged a police report claiming she was raped by the preacher in 2018.
However, during cross-examination, the witness affirmed that she had informed the investigating officer about retracting her police report.
For this main claim, the high court ruled that Arun had indeed defamed Zamri, adding that the activist failed to show any valid defence.
Arun was also ordered to pay Zamri RM100,000 in damages.
However, the court also ordered Zamri to pay a similar amount to Arun for the counterclaim filed by the activist and Siti.
Zamri was earlier embroiled in the controversy surrounding the suicide of TikTok influencer Rajeswary Appahu who was found dead at her home on July 5 following intense cyberbullying by other social media users.
On July 18, two individuals, P. Shalini and B. Sathiskumar pleaded guilty to charges of making insulting remarks and issuing obscene comments against Rajeswary respectively.
Prior to Rajeswary’s online harassment, Zamri hosted a TikTok live in June urging the public to lodge police reports against the influencer over comments that allegedly insulted Islam made by other participants in a separate live session that she hosted. – August 2, 2024