Non-compliance with a court order constitutes contempt, and aiding in such a breach also warrants punishment, emphasizing the duty of obedience to court orders.

Headnote:(A) Federal Constitution – Article 126 – Courts of Judicature Act 1964 – Section 13 – Committal proceedings for contempt of court – Defendants breached an Interim Injunction Order by failing to remove defamatory statements regarding plaintiffs – Court emphasized the duty of obedience to court orders and the consequences of contempt. (Paras 11-12, 18-20)

(B) Contempt of Court – Definition and classification – Civil contempt involves disobedience of court orders, while criminal contempt involves actions obstructing justice – The court has the power to punish contempt to uphold the administration of justice. (Paras 24-26)

Facts of the case: Plaintiffs sought a committal order against the defendant and his wife for breaching an Interim Injunction Order by failing to remove defamatory statements from social media. The defendant claimed oversight in compliance. (Paras 3-6)

Findings of Court: The court found both defendants guilty of contempt for breaching the injunction and aiding in the breach. (Paras 38-39)

Issues: The main issues were the defendants' compliance with the injunction and the nature of their contempt. (Paras 18-20)

Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that non-compliance with a court order constitutes contempt, and aiding in such a breach also warrants punishment. (Paras 24-26)

Result: Defendants sentenced to imprisonment and fines for contempt.

JUDGMENT

(Enclosure 54)

Suzana Muhammad Said JC:

Introduction

[1] This is the plaintiffs' application (encl 54) seeking for a Committal Order against Foo Hiap Siong (in his capacity as the sole proprietor of Messrs Foo Hiap Siong & Co), the defendant in this suit and one Cheong Yin Mui (CYM), who is the defendant's wife and employee.

Brief Facts

[2] The defendant is a practising advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya and a member of the Malaysian Bar Council for sixteen (16) years.

[3] The plaintiffs initiated this defamation suit against the defendant and obtained an Interim Injunction Order dated 7 April 2023 (Injunction Order) where in essence, the defendant is to withdraw, remove and/or delete all statements, references and/or pictures concerning and/or referring to the plaintiffs and/or the business of the plaintiffs including references to "Dato Wira " (or translated as "Dato Wira Chu San"), ""(or translated as "Chu San"), "OE" brand and/or "OE Academy" 8 days from the date of the Injunction Order and no further postings with those references are permitted on the defendant's Facebook Page.

[4] The Interim Injunction Order are as follows:

"(1) Sementara menunggu pelupusan sepenuhnya tindakan ini, suatu Perintah Injunksi Interim bahawa Defendan adalah dihalang dan dilarang sama ada melalui dirinya dan/atau ejen, nomini, pekerja dan/atau wakilnya daripada bercakap atau menulis mengenai Plaintif-Plaintif kepada mana- mana pihak ketiga kecuali bagi tujuan membela tindakan undang-undang di Mahkamah;
(2) Sementara menunggu pelupusan sepenuhnya tindakan ini, suatu Perintah Injunksi Interim bahawa Defendan sama ada melalui dirinya dan/atau ejen, nomini, pekerja dan/atau wakilnya dihalang dan dilarang daripada terus menerbitkan atau menyebabkan diterbitkan untuk selanjutnya menyebarkan atau menyebabkan disebarkan apa-apa pernyataan- pernyataan, perkataan-perkataan dan/atau gambar-gambar mengenai dan/atau merujuk kepada Plaintif-Plaintif dan perniagaan Plaintif-Plaintif termasuk "Dato Wira " (atau diterjemahkan kepada "Dato Wira Chu San"), ""(atau diterjemahkan kepada "Chu San"), jenama "OE" dan/atau "OE Academy" dan/atau perkataan-perkataan lain yang mempunyai rujukan sama dalam apa-apa cara pun termasuk dan/atau tidak terhad kepada apa-apa yang didakwa oleh Defendan dalam halaman Akaun Facebook Defendan dengan URL https://www. facebook.com/herculesx dan/atau mana-mana laman Facebook yang lain dan/atau melalui emel dan/atau Whatappp dan/atau melalui telefon bimbit dan/atau Internet dan/atau blog dan/atau surat dan/atau sidang akhbar dan/atau media televisyen (termasuk dan tidak terhad kepada stesen "8TV") dan/atau forum/seminar dan/atau media lain kepada mana-mana pihak lain dan/atau pihak ketiga, sama ada secara bertulis atau sebaliknya dan/atau mana-mana cara lain;
(3) Sementara menunggu pelupusan sepenuhnya tindakan ini, suatu Perintah Injunksi Interim bahawa Defendan dilarang sama ada melalui dirinya dan/atau egennya dan/atau nomini dan/atau pekerjanya dan/ atau wakilnya daripada memfitnahkan Plaintif-Plaintif dan/atau menjejaskan/menjatuhkan nama baik perniagaan dan/atau karakter Plaintif-Plaintif dalam apa-apa jua cara termasuk menyebarkan dan/ atau menerbitkan lagi Kenyataan-Kenyataan Fitnah tersebut seperti yang ditakrifkan dan/atau diplidkan dalam Penyataan Tuntutan dan/ atau secara mendakwa, mendedahkan, berkomunikasi, menyebarkan, menerbitkan dan/atau membenarkan dakwaan, pendedahan, komunikasi, penyebaran, penerbitan kepada mana-mana pihak ketiga dan/atau orang lain mengenai Plaintif-Plaintif dan mana-mana kursus- kursus Plaintif-Plaintif dalam apa juga cara pun yang membawa kesan yang sama;
(4) Sementara menunggu pelupusan sepenuhnya tindakan ini, suatu Perintah Injunksi Interim bahawa Defendan hendaklah dalam tempoh 8 hari dari tarikh Perintah Mahkamah ini menarik balik ("withdraw"), membatalkan ("remove") dan/atau memadamkan ("delete") kesemua pernyataan-pernyataan, perkataan-perkataan, rujukan-rujukan dan/atau gamb