KUALA LUMPUR: The case to assess damages payable by two administrators of the Telegram channels Edisi Siasat and Edisi Khas to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is among those in focus in court this week.
This follows the High Court’s decision to fix today as the case management date to obtain further directions on the assessment of damages proceedings, following a default judgment obtained against both defendants.
On Nov 14, MCMC won its civil claim against the two administrators of Edisi Siasat and Edisi Khas and obtained a default judgment against them.
MCMC was granted general and exemplary damages, which will be assessed by the court, as well as costs on a solicitor-and-client basis, awarded in favour of the commission.
On Sept 11, the court allowed MCMC’s application to restrain Telegram Messenger Inc (the third defendant) and the administrators of the Edisi Siasat and Edisi Khas channels from disseminating or publishing 33 articles deemed harmful to the public.
On May 21, MCMC, as the plaintiff, filed the suit naming two unidentified individuals as administrators of the Edisi Siasat and Edisi Khas Telegram channels, as well as Telegram Messenger Inc, alleging that the channels were involved in a coordinated campaign targeting the royal institution, public bodies or institutions since Feb 6, 2024.
Meanwhile, the defence team of Datuk Seri Najib Razak is also scheduled to file an appeal today against the High Court’s decision convicting the former prime minister on 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering.
His lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said on Friday that the defence was looking forward to presenting its arguments before the Court of Appeal, claiming there were numerous errors in the High Court’s judgment.
Najib, who is also a former finance minister, was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and fined RM11.38 billion by the High Court.
The high-profile trial, which attracted worldwide attention, took a total of 293 days, with the High Court hearing testimony from 50 prosecution witnesses and 26 defence witnesses.
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