KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 — A man ordered to pay fashion entrepreneur Christy Ng and her company RM180,000 in damages over defamatory social media posts is facing contempt of court proceedings after allegedly failing to publish apologies in newspapers as directed by the High Court.
The High Court in Kuala Lumpur has fixed Monday to hear a committal application filed by Ng and Christy Ng Sdn Bhd against J Vikneshvra Rau, Berita Harian reported.
The proceedings centre on Vikneshvra’s alleged failure to publish full-page, unconditional apologies in Malay- and English-language newspapers, despite having posted an apology on his Threads account in March.
According to a statement issued by law firm Foong Cheng Leong & Co, the dispute began with statements published through Vikneshvra’s Threads account, @archnionverse, on November 4 last year.
The post reportedly attracted at least 655,000 views, about 1,000 reposts and 1,800 shares.
On February 13, the High Court entered judgment in default of appearance against Vikneshvra after he failed to enter an appearance to defend the lawsuit.
The court barred him from publishing further defamatory statements and ordered him to issue public apologies in three newspapers and on his social media account.
Although Vikneshvra posted an apology on Threads on March 19, he allegedly failed to comply with the newspaper publication requirement, including in The Star and Harian Metro.
On September 15, the High Court granted Ng and her company permission to initiate committal proceedings against him for alleged contempt of court.
Committal proceedings allow a court to determine whether someone has committed contempt by failing to comply with its orders.
However, permission to bring the application does not mean Vikneshvra has been found guilty of contempt. The court must still consider the arguments and evidence presented by both sides before reaching a decision.
Ng and her company maintain that his continued failure to publish the required newspaper apologies amounts to non-compliance with the court’s order.
The latest proceedings follow an earlier High Court ruling on July 30, when Ng and her company were awarded RM180,000 in damages following an assessment.
Ng was awarded RM140,000, while her company received RM40,000.
Vikneshvra was also ordered to pay interest and RM10,000 in costs, alongside the requirement to publish apologies in three newspapers and on social media.
Ng and her company are represented by lawyers Foong Cheng Leong and Rachel Tan Li Ying of Foong Cheng Leong & Co.