{
  "id": 7240237,
  "title": "Court of Appeal slashes Malaysian Bar’s damages to Shafee to RM120,000",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/court-of-appeal-slashes-malaysian-bars-damages-to-shafee-to-rm120-000-7240237",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-14T03:15:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/09/14/court-of-appeal-slashes-malaysian-bar-s-damages-to-shafee-to-rm120-000"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Court of Appeal in Malaysia has slashed the damages awarded to lawyer Shafee Abdullah by the Malaysian Bar, reducing the compensation to RM120,000. The three-member bench, chaired by Justice Choo Kah Sing, dismissed Shafee's cross-appeal seeking to increase the original RM340,000 damages awarded by the High Court. The panel also reduced the RM200,000 damages for loss of reputation and injury to feelings to RM100,000, and set aside the RM100,000 for loss of professional opportunities and RM20,000 for mental stress and health-related consequences. Despite noting illegalities in the Bar's actions, the bench maintained the RM20,000 in aggravated damages. The case originated from a February 2015 roadshow where Shafee spoke about the Federal Court's judgment in Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy II case, which led to Anwar's conviction and subsequent pardon. Lawyers Tommy Thomas and VC George tabled a motion at the Bar's AGM, accusing Shafee of violating rules against seeking publicity for himself and seeking condemnation from the Bar. However, the Federal Court allowed Shafee's appeal in 2021, and the Court of Appeal upheld the decision, ordering the Bar and Shafee to bear their own costs.",
  "summary": "The bench says while there were illegalities in the Bar's actions, this does not automatically mean they were carried out in bad faith.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Court of Appeal slashes Malaysian Bar’s damages to Shafee to RM120,000",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/court-of-appeal-slashes-malaysian-bars-damages-to-shafee-to-rm120-000",
        "published": "2026-09-14T03:15:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Malaysiakini",
        "title": "SNAPSHOT | Bar case: Court trims damages for Shafee; speaker to block motions axing N Sembilan MB",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/snapshot-bar-case-court-trims-damages-for-shafee-speaker-to-block",
        "published": "2026-09-14T06:07:32.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Vibes",
        "title": "Illegal action did not mean malice, court rules in Shafee case",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/illegal-action-did-not-mean-malice-court-rules-in-shafee-case",
        "published": "2026-09-14T07:13:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "Court of Appeal slashes Muhammad Shafee’s damages in Malaysian Bar suit to RM120,000",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/court-of-appeal-slashes-muhammad-shafees-damages-in-malaysian-bar",
        "published": "2026-09-14T08:20:35.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}