Razarudin sues blogger Papagomo for defamation

KUALA LUMPUR: Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain has filed a defamation lawsuit against blogger Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, better known as Papagomo.

The lawsuit centres on statements made by Papagomo in a video uploaded to YouTube and TikTok, and also spread across other social media platforms.

Razarudin's lawyer Raam Kumar confirmed that the lawsuit was filed at the High Court on Thursday and served to Papagomo the following day.

"The plaintiff is seeking damages for verbal and written defamation, general damages, aggravated or exemplary damages and special damages," Raam said.

"The plaintiff has also sought an injunction order to prevent the defendant, whether personally, through employees or any other party, from issuing defamatory statements or words, as well as from publishing or facilitating the re-publication of the defamatory statements."

The lawsuit further demands that all videos, publications, messages or materials containing the alleged defamatory statements be retracted, deleted and destroyed.

"The plaintiff is also seeking a public apology and retraction of the defamatory remarks to be published across all the defendant's social media accounts, mass media and online platforms, with the content of the apology subject to the plaintiff's prior approval," said Raam.

It was previously reported that Papagomo was being investigated for allegedly insulting the IGP.

The blogger is believed to have uploaded a half-hour video containing disparaging remarks against the IGP.

A police report was lodged, prompting an investigation.

Papagomo's statement was recorded at the Setapak police station on Dec 19 as part of the probe.

The case has been classified under Section 500 and Section 504 of the Penal Code, which address defamation and intentional insult, as well as Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which governs improper use of network facilities.