KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court was told that an apology by blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris to Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Razarudin Husain was insincere and a joke.
Lawyer Raam Kumar, representing Razarudin, said Wan Muhammad Azri, or Papagomo, had published a video containing a statement that was supposed to be an unconditional apology on April 30 with the song "Maafkan Kami" from P. Ramlee's Pendekar Bujang Lapok in the background.
"The apology was a joke. It must be remembered that this is a court matter where the defendant must show intent.
"He should be apologising unconditionally and then keep to himself, but instead, he made a clarification on the apology," Raam Kumar said on Friday (May 9).
ALSO READ: IGP files another leave application against Papagomo for committal proceedings
Judicial Commissioner Gan Techiong then granted leave to Razarudin to initiate committal proceedings against Wan Muhammad Azri after hearing the submission in the ex-parte application.
The court also fixed June 30 for an inter-parte hearing for parties involved.
This is the second time Razarudin filed the leave application claiming that Wan Muhammad Azri had failed to obey several matters outlined in the committal order dated April 30.
In the ex-parte application, Razarudin said Wan Muhammad Azri had published a video online via his social media platforms TikTok ("Papa Azri") and YouTube ("Sir Azri") on May 1 where the defendant made several statements.
He said the defendant's statements in the video were contrary to the written apology that was agreed upon and read before the High Court on April 30.
ALSO READ: Papagomo apologises to IGP over defamatory remarks
"The apology made by the defendant on April 30 was insincere and without remorse, despite being made unconditionally," Razarudin said.
The breach in the April 30 committal order, Razarudin said, constituted "a second act of contempt" against the High Court.
"The defendant's contempt of the committal order renders him liable to committal proceedings for contempt of court," he added.
A check on the court's e-filing system showed that the leave application would be heard before JC Gan on Friday.
On April 30, Wan Muhammad Azri issued an unreserved apology to the IGP over defamatory and demeaning remarks made earlier this year.
ALSO READ: IGP gets injunction preventing Papagomo from issuing further defamatory statements
The apology pertains to two media postings published in January, despite a court order issued on Dec 31 prohibiting him from making such statements.
JC Gan, in delivering the court's decision, said the apology, which was read aloud in court, must also be published on YouTube, TikTok, X, and Telegram for at least seven days.
He also ordered the blogger to pay RM5,000 in costs.
During the proceedings on April 30, the court was originally scheduled to hear contempt of court proceedings initiated by Razarudin against the blogger, but both parties were advised to seek a resolution, which led to Wan Muhammad Azri's apology and subsequent purging of the contempt.
On Dec 26, Razarudin filed a RM3mil defamation suit against Wan Muhammad Azri, which also named Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as a related party.
