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The Kuala Lumpur High Court has awarded RM180,000 in damages to entrepreneur Christy Ng and Christy Ng Sdn Bhd in a defamation suit against the operator of the "archnionverse" Threads account
According to the New Straits Times, the defendant, J Vikneshvra Rau, was also ordered to pay the amount, along with interest and RM10,000 in costs.
He was also ordered to publish a public apology in three newspapers and on his social media accounts.
In assessing the damages, the court considered the seriousness of the allegations, the extensive reach of the publications, and the defendant's conduct after the posts were published.
In the judgment shared by Ng on LinkedIn, the defamatory posts reportedly received over 655,000 views, 1,000 reposts, and 1,800 shares.
"The court found that the defamatory imputations were serious and wide-ranging, including allegations of dishonesty, exploitation of employees and creatives, hypocrisy, unethical business practices, and oppressive conduct as an employer.
"The court held that these allegations struck at Christy Ng's personal integrity and our company's commercial trustworthiness," read the judgment.
Ng said building a brand reputation is difficult, as it took her and her team 15 years to establish it, but it could be destroyed in a matter of moments
She said the company welcomed genuine feedback, criticism and accountability, but would not tolerate false allegations or malicious attacks intended to damage its reputation.
Ng added that the lawsuit was not about making money, but about protecting her employees, customers, business partners, and the trust they had built over the years.
She also said that if the judgment was fully paid, she and the company intended to donate the recovered damages to charity.
"Freedom of expression is an important principle. Defamation is not," she wrote.
She also said that while criticism would always be welcomed, the company would continue taking legal action to protect its reputation from defamatory claims.
Read Ng's full LinkedIn post here:
