Sarawak Report editor sentenced to two years’ jail for defaming Terengganu Sultanah
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 — Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown was sentenced to two years in jail after she was found guilty of defaming the Sultanah of Terengganu, Sultanah Nur Zahirah, Berita Harian reported.
Magistrate Nik Mohd Tarmizie Nik Mohd Shukri ordered that the prison sentence start from the conviction date, which is today.
Rewcastle-Brown was previously the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the court for her failure to show up for a charge in relation to the case.
According to Section 425A of the Criminal Procedure Code, the case’s trial was held in absentia.
The national daily also reported that Rewcastle-Brown was prosecuted under Section 500 of the Penal Code for publishing remarks that were deemed defamatory in The Sarawak Report: The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose.
Sultanah Nur Zahirah had filed a lawsuit on November 21, 2018 against Rewcastle-Brown over the book’s claims and demanded damages of RM100 million.
She claimed that the defamatory remarks suggested that she was involved in corrupt practices and had meddled in the Terengganu state government’s affairs.
The Sultanah also said the claim that she had used her status to influence the establishment of the Terengganu Investment Board (TIA), which was later known as 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), was untrue.
Sultanah Nur Zahirah further denied, as detailed in the book, that she had helped fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, otherwise known as Jho Low, to become the TIA’s advisor.
The prosecution comprised Deputy Public Prosecutor, Engku Ahmad Rashdi Engku Abdillah, Mohd Khairuddin Idris and Nur Amalina Najwa Mohd Ali.
Previously, Rewcastle-Brown, who is a British citizen, was charged in absentia at the Kuala Terengganu Magistrate’s Court on September 23, 2021.
She subseuqently made an application to transfer the case to the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
This was rejected by Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge K. Muniandy on June 21, last year.
Muniandy then ordered that the case remain on trial at the Kuala Terengganu Magistrate’s Court and that it should proceed without delay.
