Kuala Lumpur: The High Court here has denied controversial blogger Wan Azri Wan Deris’s bid to suspend payment of a RM280,000 judgment sum to former finance minister Lim Guan Eng and his son in a defamation suit.
Justice Roslan Mat Nor dismissed Wan Azri’s application for a stay of the judgment, saying he failed to show any special circumstances justifying a stay order.
“The defendant (Wan Azri) claimed that he would succeed in his appeal and that the appeal would be rendered academic if the judgment sum were paid now.
“He further said that he would face bankruptcy proceedings if the plaintiffs were to enforce the judgment. These reasons do not assist the court in exercising its discretion to grant a stay,” he said.
The court also ordered Wan Azri to pay RM5,000 in costs.
In May, the High Court found Wan Azri, known as Papagomo, liable for defaming the Lims in a Facebook post dated March 14, 2020.
In the post, he alleged that Clint Lim was detained while attempting to smuggle RM2 million into Singapore, and that Guan Eng went to the island republic to “rescue” him.
He was ordered to pay RM200,000 in damages to Guan Eng and RM80,000 to his son, along with costs of RM30,000 and RM10,000 respectively.
Lawyer Simon Murali appeared for the Lims while Norfazilah Jaafar represented Wan Azri.
Simon later told reporters that they had not filed any applications to enforce the judgment sum against Azri.
