KUALA TERENGGANU: Sarawak Report editor, Clare Rewcastle-Brown, was sentenced to two years' jail in absentia by the Magistrate's Court here today for defaming the Sultanah of Terengganu, Sultanah Nur Zahirah.
The verdict was issued by Magistrate Nik Mohd Tarmizie Nik Mohd Shukri after the 65-year-old was found guilty of the offence.
Nik Mohd Tarmizie ordered the sentence to run from today.
The court had previously issued an arrest warrant for Rewcastle-Brown for failing to attend the charge proceedings.
The trial was conducted in absentia under Section 425A of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Rewcastle-Brown was charged under Section 500 of the Penal Code for issuing defamatory statements in her book, 'The Sarawak Report - The Inside Story of the 1MDB Exposé'.
Sultanah Nur Zahirah had previously filed a defamation suit against Rewcastle-Brown for claims made in the latter's book.
The sultanah had demanded RM100 million in general damages.
Sultanah Nur Zahirah, who filed the suit on Nov 21, 2018, had claimed that the defamatory claims had, among others, insinuated that she was involved in corrupt practices and had meddled in the Terengganu state government's administrative affairs.
According to the suit, the book also claimed that the sultanah had used her status to influence the establishment of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), which was later known as 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
The suit claimed that the allegations in the book meant that the sultanah had played a role in helping fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, become an advisor to TIA.
Deputy public prosecutors Engku Ahmad Rashdi Engku Abdillah, Mohd Khairuddin Idris and Nur Amalina Najwa Mohd Ali appeared for the prosecution.
Rewcastle-Brown, who hails from the United Kingdom, was previously charged in the Kuala Terengganu Magistrate's Court in absentia on Sept 23, 2021.
She later applied for the case to be transferred to the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
Kuala Lumpur High Court judge K Muniandy, on June 21, 2023, had rejected Rewcastle-Brown's application.
Muniandy ordered the case to be tried in the Kuala Terengganu Magistrate's Court, and said it should continue without any delay as the charge was made on Sept 23, 2021.
On https://www.nst.com.my/news/crime-courts/2023/12/989278/clare-rewcastle-brown-ordered-pay-rm300000-defamation-against, the Court of Appeal ordered Rewcastle-Brown and two others to pay RM300,000 for making defamatory statements against the sultanah.
Gerakbudaya Enterprise and printer Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd were the other defendants.
The appellate court had also ruled that the High Court, on Oct 31, 2022, had erred in dismissing the sultanah's lawsuit against the editor.