KUALA LUMPUR,  April 3 — A TikTok influencer has filed a defamation suit against Malaysian Hindu Sangam president T. Ganesan over a video allegedly linking her flower bathing service to deceptive practices.

Entrepreneur Olivia Lopez Bennet Lopez, 45, better known as Ibu Olivia Lopez, filed the suit at the Shah Alam Sessions Court last March through Messrs Asheeq Ali & Co, naming Ganesan as the defendant.

In her statement of claim, Olivia Lopez, who operates a flower bathing service, alleged that the defendant posted a Facebook Reel in August last year containing defamatory remarks about the services she offers.

She claimed the video directly referred to her, as it featured her image alongside allegations that the service was fraudulent, unethical, and profit-driven.

According to her, the video was uploaded on the defendant’s personal Facebook account and later reposted on the association’s official page, which has about 40,000 followers.

She claimed that the video on the defendant’s personal account garnered 52 likes, 11 comments, and 25 shares, while the version on the association’s page recorded 8,300 views, 62 likes, three comments, and eight shares.

Olivia Lopez, who has about 227,600 followers on TikTok under the handle “Jai Hanumat” (@ibuoliviealopez), contended that the statements portrayed her as dishonest, untrustworthy, and misleading to the public.

She added that she is a Professional Clinical Hypnotherapist (P.Ch) and claimed the allegations had severely damaged her reputation and business, resulting in the loss of clients and business partners, a decline in income, and exposure to online criticism and bullying.

As a result, she is seeking a public apology, the removal of the video, general damages, aggravated or exemplary damages, as well as legal costs and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.

She also claimed that her solicitor had issued a notice of demand to the defendant on Sept 17, but Ganesan allegedly stood by his statements and did not remove the video prior to the filing of the suit.

The case has been fixed for case management on April 10 before Sessions Court Judge Zuhrina Mohamed Nor via e-review. — Bernama