Court rejects Papagomo's stay bid in Guan Eng, son's civil suit

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur has denied an application by Papagomo, also known as Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, to halt the enforcement of a judgment requiring him to pay RM280,000 in damages to former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng and his son Clint Lim Way Chau. Judge Roslan Mat Nor dismissed the request, stating that the defendant had not presented any compelling reasons for a stay of execution pending the resolution of his appeal, which was lodged on June 2.

Papagomo argued that he would win his appeal and that the judgment sum would become redundant if paid now. Moreover, he claimed that the plaintiffs would pursue bankruptcy proceedings against him if the judgment was executed. However, the court deemed these arguments insufficient to grant a stay, ordering Papagomo to pay RM5,000 in costs.

Lim Guan Eng and Clint Lim Way Chau had accused Papagomo of defamation in May 2023, alleging that he posted false information on his Facebook page claiming that Way Chau was detained in Singapore for attempting to bring RM2 million in undeclared cash into the country in 2020. The court ordered Papagomo to pay RM200,000 in global damages to Lim Guan Eng, along with RM30,000 in costs, and RM80,000 in damages and RM10,000 in costs to Clint Lim Way Chau.

The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit on April 19, 2020, accusing Papagomo of making defamatory statements on his Facebook page on March 14, 2020, regarding Way Chau's detention at Changi Airport on February 29, 2020, and Lim Guan Eng's alleged trip to Singapore on the same date.