KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 — Fashion entrepreneur Christy Ng says her defamation case is about more than herself, as the livelihoods of nearly 500 employees are at stake.

The businesswoman and social media influencer expressed frustration with the social media account holder’s refusal to issue a public apology over what she described as extreme defamatory allegations against her business, Berita Harian reported today.

Ng said the individual continued posting on Threads despite failing to attend court proceedings related to the case.

“If he had truly regretted his mistake, he should have come and apologised. But he is still writing on Threads and showing no remorse.

“He can keep posting on social media but does not come to court for the proceedings,” she told reporters outside the court today.

A hearing was scheduled today for an application to commit a man for allegedly failing to comply with a court order requiring him to publish a public apology in a newspaper.

Ng and her company, Christy Ng Sdn Bhd, as plaintiffs, filed the application at the High Court against J Vikneshvra Rau, the defendant.

The application followed allegations that Vikneshvra had failed to publish an unconditional, full-page apology in both a Malay-language and an English-language newspaper, as ordered by the court.

However, the High Court today fixed October 26 as the new hearing date after the defendant failed to appear for the proceedings.

Ng said this was the first time she had taken legal action over a defamation case of this nature, as she considered the allegations excessive and damaging to her company’s reputation and employees.

She said the allegations, written in English, had also been read by customers in other countries, including the Philippines and Indonesia, and had affected her family.

“He has damaged the company’s reputation and the livelihoods of nearly 500 people working for my company across South-east Asia.

“My parents were also deeply affected when they read the defamatory claims.

“So this is not just about me, but also about my responsibility towards the employees who depend on this company to earn a living,” she said.

Ng said the legal action was taken to defend the company’s reputation and safeguard the welfare of employees who relied on the business for their livelihoods.

Meanwhile, her lawyer Foong Cheng Leong said the individual had yet to pay any part of the RM180,000 in damages awarded by the court in the case.

He said a bankruptcy notice against the individual had also been filed in court last week.