SAMAN FITNAH

Apa itu fitnah?

K.Kuldeep Singh di dalam buku Tort of Defamation menyatakan bahawa untuk memberikan suatu definasi yang tepat tentang fitnah adalah suatu yang sukar kerana persepsi masyarakat tentang fitnah boleh berubah mengikut perkembangan zaman. Sesuatu yang merupakan fitnah seratus tahun dahulu, kemungkinan tidak lagi dianggap fitnah pada masa sekarang.

Secara ringkasnya, suatu fitnah adalah apabila sesuatu pihak mengeluarkan sesuatu penyataan terhadap pihak ketiga dimana kesahihan penyataan tersebut tidak dapat dipertahankan.

Yang Arif Hakim Mohamed Azmi menyatakan bahawa:

“The typical type of defamation is an attack upon the moral character of the plaintiff attributing crime, dishonesty, untruthfulness, ingratitude or cruelty”.

Madam Justice Abella telah memberikan suatu definasi yang comprehensive berkenaan dengan fitnah seperti berikut:

"A defamatory statement is one which has a tendency to injure the reputation of the person to whom it refers (which tends, that is to say, to lower him in the estimation of right-thinking members of society generally and in particular to cause him to be regarded with feelings of hatred, contempt, ridicule, fear, dislike or disesteem. The statement is just by the standard of an ordinary right-thinking member of society.

Hence, the test is an objective one. The standard of what constitutes a reasonable or ordinary member of the public is difficult to articulate. It should not be so low as to stifle free expression unduly, nor so high as to imperil the ability to protect the integrity of a person’s reputation. The impressions about the content of any broadcast – or written statement – should be assessed from the perspective of someone reasonable, that is, a person who is reasonably thoughtful and informed, rather than someone who is with an overly fragile sensibility. A degree of commonsense must be attributed to viewers."

BEBAN PEMBUKTIAN

Di dalam kes Ayob bin Saud v TS Sambanthamurthi [1989] 1 MLJ 315, Yang Arif Hakim Mohamed Dzaiddin (pada masa itu) dengan jelas menyenaraikan elemen-elemen yang perlu ada untuk mewujudkan suatu fitnah libel seperti berikut:

"our law on libel, which is governed by the Defamation Act 1957, the burden of proof lies on the plaintiff to show

(1) the words are defamatory;

(2) the words refer to the plaintiff;

(3) the words were published. Where a defence of qualified privilege is set up, as in the present case, the burden lies on the defendant to prove that he made the statement honestly, and without any indirect or improper motive. Then, if he succeeds in establishing qualified privilege, the burden is shifted to the plaintiff in this case to show actual or express malice which upon proof thereof, communication made under qualified privilege could no longer be regarded as privilege: Rajagopal v Rajan [1972] 1 MLJ 45."

Justeru itu, untuk membuktikan kes fitnah, Plaintif perlu membuktikan elemen-elemen berikut:

(a) Perkataan yang didakwa adalah merupakan suatu fitnah, fakta yang tidak benar dan bertujuan untuk menjatuhkan reputasi Plaintif,

(b) Perkataan yang didakwa adalah merujuk kepada Plaintif, dan

(c) Perkataan yang didakwa berkenaan telah diterbitkan.

Prinsip-prinsip yang terpakai di dalam menaksirkan gantirugi bagi kes-kes fitnah

YA Hakim Siti Norma Yaakob (pada masa itu) di dalam kes Datuk Harris bin Mohamed Salleh v Abdul Jalil bin Ahmad & Anor6 seperti berikut:

The assessment does not depend on any legal rule but the following factors should be considered:

(1) The conduct of the Plaintiff;

(2) his position and standing;

(3) the nature of the libel;

(4) the mode and extent of publication;

(5) the absence or refusal of any retraction or apology; and

(6) the whole conduct of the defendant from the time of the libel was published down to the very moment of the verdict.

From these principles, it is clear that the task of assessing damages is to approach it broadly, the amount of damages to be awarded will depend on the circumstaces of each case.

Secara ringkasnya, di dalam menaksirkan gantirugi bagi kes-kes fitnah, perkara-perkara berikut perlu diambilkira:

(1) The conduct of the plaintiff;

(2) The position and standing of the plaintiff;

(3) The nature of the libel i.e. the gravity and seriousness of the libel;

(4) The mode and extent of the publication;

(5) The mental distress, hurt, anxiety and mental anguish caused to the plaintiff as a result of the libel;

(6) The uncertainty undergone in litigation;

(7) The conduct of the defendants from the time of the libel down to the very moment of the verdict;

(8) All evidence led in aggravation or mitigation of the damages;

(9) The fact where the defendant has elected not to give 10 evidence, of course, relevant;

(10) Any considerable lapse of time between the date of the libel and the publication of the other defamatory words;

(11) The plaintiff’s delay in taking action whether this has prejudiced them; 15

(12) The absence or refusal of any correction, retraction or opology; and

(13) The conduct of his counsel, who cannot shelter his client by taking responsibility for the conduct of the case

KESIMPULAN

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