The Melaka High Court orders Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh to pay Seputeh MP Teresa Kok RM300,000 in damages and costs over a defamatory TikTok video.
PETALING JAYA: The Melaka High Court here has ordered Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh to pay Seputeh MP Teresa Kok RM250,000 in damages and RM50,000 in costs in a defamation suit over a video posted on TikTok.
The allegedly defamatory video was uploaded by Muhamad Akmal on Sept 7, 2024.
He was absent when Judge Datuk Isa Aziz Ibrahim delivered the ruling today.
In his judgment, Isa said the court found that the statements made in the video were defamatory and went beyond the limits of legitimate criticism of public policy.
He said Muhamad Akmal had failed to establish the defences of fair comment and qualified privilege raised to justify the statements.
The judge also took into consideration the defendant’s admission that he had recorded the video while angry and intended it as a personal attack against Kok.
“The court finds that the video contains serious defamatory elements, as it portrays the plaintiff as an individual who consistently undermines the nation’s harmony,” he said.
Apart from awarding RM250,000 in damages and RM50,000 in costs, the court granted a permanent injunction prohibiting Muhamad Akmal from republishing the same defamatory statements or making other statements carrying a similar meaning.
The court also directed him to remove the video from all his social media accounts within seven days of the order.
Kok was represented by lawyer Datuk Sankara Nair, while Muhamad Akmal was represented by Syahrul Syazwan Salehin.