Court of Appeal slashes Malaysian Bar’s damages to Shafee to RM120,000
The bench says while there were illegalities in the Bar's actions, this does not automatically mean they were carried out in bad faith.
The Court of Appeal has reduced the damages awarded to lawyer Shafee Abdullah by the Malaysian Bar to RM120,000, according to the latest ruling. The three-member bench, chaired by Justice Choo Kah Sing, dismissed Shafee's attempt to increase the original RM340,000 damages awarded by the High Court. The panel also lowered the compensation for loss of reputation and injury to feelings from RM200,000 to RM100,000, while dismissing the claims for loss of professional opportunities and mental stress at RM0.
The RM20,000 awarded for aggravated damages was retained. The court emphasized that damages and quantum must be proven through facts and not mere inference. The case originated from a February 2015 roadshow where Shafee discussed the Federal Court's judgment in Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy II case, leading to the PKR president's conviction and subsequent pardon.
Lawyers Tommy Thomas and VC George later tabled a motion for debate at the Bar's AGM, accusing Shafee of breaching a rule against seeking publicity and demanding condemnation from the Bar. However, the Federal Court upheld Shafee's appeal in 2021, ruling that such matters should be addressed by the disciplinary board, not at the AGM. Neither Thomas nor George were held personally responsible in the latest ruling.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
