Kuala Lumpur:The Court of Appeal has reserved its decision regarding blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris's appeal against a High Court ruling that sentenced him to 30 days in jail for contempt of court in a defamation case filed by former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain @ Abd Rasid.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Justice Datuk Azizul Azmi Adnan, leading a three-member panel, set October 29 for case management to determine the date of the decision. The panel, which also included Justices Datuk Ong Chee Kwan and Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Harun, heard arguments from the legal representatives of both Wan Muhammad Azri and Razarudin.
On August 27, 2025, High Court Judicial Commissioner Gan Techiong found Wan Muhammad Azri, known as Papagomo, in breach of a court injunction related to the ongoing defamation suit filed by Razarudin. As a result, the blogger was sentenced to 15 days for failing to comply properly with the court's order to apologize and another 15 days for a statement in a video that indicated a lack of remorse. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively, and Wan Muhammad Azri was instructed to pay RM30,000 in costs, though a stay of execution was granted pending appeal.
During the appeal, Wan Muhammad Azri's lawyer, Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, argued that his client was not in contempt, as he had fulfilled the court's requirements by delivering an unconditional apology in open court on April 30, 2025, and removing previous publications. He had also posted the apology on four social media accounts for at least seven days and paid RM5,000 in costs. Muhammad Rafique suggested that if the court found otherwise, the jail term should be replaced with a fine.
Conversely, Razarudin's lawyer, Raam Kumar, urged the court to uphold the High Court's contempt orders, arguing that the apology was not genuinely compliant, being difficult to read and not maintained on Wan Muhammad Azri's social media platforms. Raam, assisted by Tan Khay Boon and Norleena Jamal, highlighted that under Section 69(4) of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, the court has the authority to increase the sentence even if there is no cross-appeal.
Razarudin's RM3 million defamation lawsuit against Wan Muhammad Azri, initiated on December 27, 2024, stemmed from allegedly defamatory comments involving him and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. On January 10, 2025, an injunction was obtained to prevent Wan Muhammad Azri or his agents from making further defamatory statements on social media until the civil suit's resolution. The High Court had intended to hear the contempt proceedings on April 30 of the previous year, but Wan Muhammad Azri chose to apologize to both Razarudin and the court.