KUALA LUMPUR: Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Razarudin Husain has once again applied for the court’s permission to initiate committal proceedings against blogger Papagomo, whose real name is Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, for breaching the terms of an apology previously ordered by the High Court here.
The application is related to a RM3 million lawsuit filed by Razarudin against Wan Muhammad Azri over alleged defamation, which also involved Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Lawyer Raam Kumar, representing Razarudin, when contacted by reporters, confirmed the application and said that the court has set this Friday (May 9) for the hearing before Judicial Commissioner Gan Techiong.
Based on the notice of the ex-parte application filed at the High Court on May 5, Razarudin is seeking a committal order for Wan Muhammad Azri to be arrested and brought before the court and to be imprisoned for contempt of court.
Razarudin said this was because Wan Muhammad Azri failed to comply with the conditions to delete the publication of videos dated Jan 14 and 15, related to defamation suit filed against him, in addition to not posting the apology that was read out in court last April 30 on his social media platforms YouTube, TikTok, X and Telegram.
Razarudin claimed that at 8.30 pm last May 1, Wan Muhammad Azri had intentionally published a video via TikTok (Papa Azri) and YouTube (Sir Azri) which was contrary to the written apology that had been agreed to in the previous committal order.
“The apology made by the defendant on April 30 was insincere and without remorse, even though it was made unconditionally,” Razarudin said in the application.
On Feb 10 this year, the court granted Razarudin permission to commence committal proceedings against Wan Muhammad Azri for allegedly failing to comply with the injunction order on January 10 by posting about Razarudin on the YouTube, TikTok, X and Telegram applications.
Last month (April 30), Wan Muhammad Azri issued an unreserved apology to Razarudin Husain over his defamatory and demeaning remarks made earlier this year.
The apology pertains to two media postings published in January, despite a court order issued on Dec 31 last year, prohibiting him from making such statements.
The injunction prohibits Wan Muhammad Azri or his agents from publishing or disseminating defamatory content in any form concerning Razarudin, whether in his official capacity as IGP or in a personal context. This includes written, verbal, videos, online or instant messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram
The court also ordered Wan Muhammad Azri to retract and delete videos posted on Dec 14,15, 20 and 22 last year on his YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Telegram and X accounts, which were deemed defamatory.
