KUALA LUMPUR: Migrant rights activist Andy Hall has been ordered by the Johor Bahru High Court to pay RM500,000 in damages following two defamation suits filed by a director of a foreign worker recruitment company four years ago.
Judicial Commissioner Noradura Hamzah ruled that Embun Karisma Resources director R Muthusamy had successfully proven his claims against Hall, who did not appear in court to defend himself.
Muthusamy, represented by GK Sritharan and Chai Yi Ng, was the sole witness for the plaintiff in the trial of the two suits, which were consolidated.
In delivering her oral grounds of judgment, Noradura said a higher amount of damages was awarded because the allegations of corruption and bribery against Muthusamy were serious.
The court also ordered Hall to pay RM100,000 in costs.
Previously, Hall, who had allegedly threatened a Bangladeshi journalist and used racist and insulting language, had frequently made various negative allegations and criticisms against the Foreign Worker Central Management System (FWCMS), developed by Bestinet Sdn Bhd, through his blog.
In his blog, Hall linked Bestinet to allegations of syndicates and monopolistic practices, questioned the system’s transparency, and highlighted international scrutiny.
This was despite FWCMS having won a World Summit Award (WSA) in Vienna, Austria, and being recognised as one of the world’s 40 best digital projects in the Government and Citizen Engagement category.
As part of the judgment, Hall was also prohibited from publishing similar defamatory statements and was ordered to issue an apology to Muthusamy through major print media as well as on Facebook and Instagram.
In the first suit, filed on Apr 12, 2022, Muthusamy alleged that Hall sent an email on Jan 6 to at least 40 recipients, including companies, government departments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
According to Muthusamy, the email accused him of attempting to bribe Hall by offering him consultancy work at ATA, a leading electronics manufacturing services company.
Muthusamy alleged that Hall also stated in the email that he had attempted to obtain information about “how much would need to be paid to shut Andy Hall up”.
Following this, Muthusamy issued a letter of demand to Hall on Feb 14.
However, Muthusamy alleged that Hall subsequently made another defamatory statement in an article titled “See you in court: Hall dares libel claimant in Dyson forced labour controversy”, published by Focus Malaysia on Feb 17.
In both suits, Muthusamy maintained that the statements contained in Hall’s email and the Focus Malaysia report were false and baseless.
He claimed that the words used were sensational, humiliating, offensive, and malicious, portraying him as involved in unlawful and criminal activities and thereby damaging his reputation both domestically and internationally.
