KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court on Friday (Oct 27) ordered actress Amelia Henderson to pay RM10,000 in damages to film and drama producer A.Aida for breaching the filming contract of a drama series titled 'Sekali Lagi Cinta Kembali'.
Judicial commissioner Leong Wai Hong made the ruling after allowing Amelia’s appeal against the Session Court’s decision, which ordered her to pay more than RM200,000 in damages to A.Aida Production Sdn Bhd.
However, the court ordered Amelia, whose real name is Ameila Thripura Henderson, 28, to pay a nominal compensation of RM10,000 within 14 days, starting on Friday.
"The appeal by the appellant (Amelia) is allowed, and the decision of the Sessions Court is set aside.
"Therefore, A. Aida Production Sdn Bhd is only entitled to receive a nominal compensation of RM10,000 for the breach of contract, taking into account that the appellant has already received an advance payment of RM3,920," said Leong when delivering the decision online on Friday.
Leong said the court was satisfied that the actress' remarks in her Instagram video were not defamatory against A. Aida Production Sdn Bhd, the company owned by A. Aida, whose real name was Datuk Zaidah Awang.
"The Sessions Court’s decision that Amelia had defamed the company is wrong. After a thorough examination of Amelia's statements, I found that her views were merely a statement that the script of the drama was not suitable for her and that her role as 'Aira' would damage her reputation," he said.
In the online proceedings, lawyers Mansheel Kaur and Wan Nurliyana Abdul Rahman acted on behalf of Amelia, who was of mixed Scottish and Malaysian Indian descent, while Ashmadi Othman, Bushro Anuar, and Lukman Haqeem represented the production company.
On July 28 last year, A. Aida Production sued Amelia for breach of contract when the actress withdrew herself from filming the drama at the last minute.
According to the statement of claim, the plaintiff alleged that Amelia had received the first payment of RM3,920 after she signed the contract agreement and agreed to give full commitment to filming the drama.
However, the plaintiff claimed that Amelia made the decision to withdraw herself despite negotiations held between the two parties before a contract termination notice was given to the actress. - Bernama
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