Kuala lumpur: The High Court today dismissed an application by Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, better known as Papagomo, to stay the execution of a judgment ordering him to pay RM280,000 in damages to former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and his son.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Judge Roslan Mat Nor ruled that the defendant had failed to establish any special circumstances warranting a stay of execution pending the disposal of his appeal, which was filed on June 2.

The defendant argued that he would succeed in his appeal and that the appeal would be rendered academic if the judgment sum was paid now. He also contended that he would face bankruptcy proceedings if the plaintiffs executed the judgment. However, these reasons did not persuade the court to grant a stay, and the judge ordered Wan Muhammad Azri to pay RM5,000 in costs.

On May 19 this year, the court found Wan Muhammad Azri liable for defamation and ordered him to pay RM280,000 in damages to Guan Eng and Clint Lim Way Chau. This was over posts alleging that Way Chau was detained in Singapore for purportedly bringing in RM2 million in undeclared cash in 2020.

The court ordered the defendant to pay global damages of RM200,000 and costs of RM30,000 to Guan Eng, as well as damages of RM80,000 and costs of RM10,000 to the second plaintiff, Way Chau.

The lawsuit was filed on April 19, 2020, with claims that the defendant had posted defamatory statements on his Facebook page. The posts alleged that Way Chau was detained at Changi Airport on February 29, 2020, for bringing in RM2 million in undeclared cash.

Guan Eng stated that the defendant, using the name 'Papa Azri,' uploaded the post on March 14, 2020, and also claimed that Guan Eng had travelled to Singapore on February 29, 2020, following the alleged detention.

Lawyer Simon Murali represented both plaintiffs in today's proceedings, while lawyer Fazilah Jaafar represented Wan Muhammad Azri.