Blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, known as Papagomo, was found liable for defaming former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and his son Clint Lim in a Facebook post dated March 14, 2020 [1, 2, 3]. The post falsely alleged that Clint Lim was detained at Singapore's Changi Airport on February 29, 2020, carrying RM2 million in undeclared cash, and falsely claimed Lim Guan Eng flew to Singapore that day to intervene for his son's release [1, 4, 5, 6, 3, 7].
Lim Guan Eng and Clint Lim filed a defamation lawsuit against Papagomo on October 15, 2020, challenging the false statements in the Facebook post [2, 4, 5, 6]. The court found Papagomo was the publisher of the defamatory post and dismissed his defenses of justification and fair comment [1, 6]. It ruled that the defamatory statement lowered Lim Guan Eng's public standing and harmed both plaintiffs' reputations [1].
Lim Guan Eng denied traveling to Singapore that day, stating he remained in Malaysia during a political crisis, and Clint Lim was not detained at Changi Airport as alleged [2, 6]. A Chinese-language newspaper that initially published the report later retracted and apologized for it [7].
Justice Roslan Mat Nor emphasized, "Can a person who republishes a posting on social media rely on the defence of justification merely because of the availability of social media platforms? ... such a person cannot simply escape liability" for republishing defamatory content [6]. He also said the court was "not influenced by any political issues" and based its decision on the evidence presented [6].
Papagomo, a UMNO Youth executive council member who uses the Facebook account "Papa Azri," posted the defamatory claim, which garnered approximately 2,900 likes, 416 comments, and 315 shares [2].
The court ordered Papagomo to pay RM200,000 in damages and RM30,000 in costs to Lim Guan Eng, and RM80,000 in damages plus RM10,000 in costs to Clint Lim, totaling RM280,000 in damages and costs [1, 5, 6, 3, 7].
