KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 ― The High Court here today ordered Datuk Dr Hassan Mohamed Ali to pay RM200,000 in damages to Shah Alam member of parliament Khalid Abdul Samad for defaming him in regard to the sale of liquor, gaming centres and massage parlours in Selangor.

Justice Datuk Hue Siew Kheng said after allowing Khalid's lawsuit against Hassan, that the plaintiff had proven his claim against the defendant.

"The word complained of taken in the context of the whole speech is clearly defamatory to the plaintiff, particularly in light of the evidence of two witnesses,” she said.

She held that the two witnesses did not in any way encourage or promote the sale of liquor or the proliferation of the massage parlours and gambling dens as falsely denounced by the defendant.

"It cannot be stressed enough that religion is a highly sensitive issue in this country. To accuse someone of being anti-Islam or a traitor to religion carries extremely dire consequences for the victim,” she said.

Hue said the defendant's baseless allegation had brought the plaintiff into public odium and scandal and he had suffered as a result of it.

The court also ordered Hassan to pay RM35,000 in costs to Khalid. Both were not present in court today.

On April 29, 2015, Khalid who is now a committee member of Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) filed the lawsuit alleging that Hassan, who was then a Selangor State Government exco made disparaging remarks against him in a speech at Dewan Rukun Tetangga Seksyen 17 Shah Alam in 2012.

The plaintiff claimed the video containing the speech was edited and uploaded in YouTube which could be freely accessed by the masses.

Khalid who was then a member of PAS Central Committee alleged that Hassan's remarks were baseless, false and maliciously intended to tarnish his reputation, image and good name.

On December 16, 2016, the court struck out Hassan's statement of defence after he failed to appropriately file the documents for trial.

Khalid was represented by lawyer Muhammad Faiz Fadzil, while lawyer Datuk Hasnal Rezua Merican acted for Hassan. ― Bernama