KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has ordered the Malaysian Bar to pay RM340,000 in damages to senior lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah in his suit against the Bar and two others over his conduct as the deputy public prosecutor in a sodomy case.
Justice Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh made the order for the damages to be paid after making an assessment as ordered by the Federal Court.
Shafee had named the Bar, former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas and former Court of Appeal judge Tan Sri VC George, where both Thomas and George were practising lawyers at that time, as defendants.
On Oct 20, 2021, the Federal Court held that the defendants had acted unlawfully by allowing and publishing a motion condemning Shafee over his conduct as the deputy public prosecutor in a sodomy case before referring the matter to the Disciplinary Board.
The apex court then allowed Shafee’s appeal and held that he was entitled to get damages, and ordered the case to be reverted to the High Court for assessment of damages from the Bar since the other defendants are not statutory bodies.
The judge said he did not order costs as the issue was one of public interest.
In his suit, Shafee claimed that Thomas had published and submitted a motion on Feb 28, 2015, for discussion by the Bar’s annual general meeting on March 14 the same year and the motion was seconded by George.
On May 26, 2016, the High Court dismissed Shafee’s suit. He then appealed to the Court of Appeal, and lost again on Oct 11, 2018, prompting him to bring the matter to the Federal Court.
When met after the proceeding, Shafee said he would donate the money to charity, either for children or ill lawyers who are struggling with medical bills, Bernama reported.
