Malaysian artist Siti Nordiana Alias has filed a defamation suit against five individuals and two comrades for some derogatory remarks they allegedly made on their respective Instagram accounts.

The singer claimed in a statement that around 11.58pm on July 30^th during an Instagram livestream conducted by one of the defendants, Nur Sheila, she and the other four defendants via their respective accounts actively engaged in pin posting and publishing defamatory remarks against the plaintiff.

“The live broadcast for about one hour and 28 minutes was viewed by the defendants’ followers and other Instagram users,” said the singer known as ‘Nana’ in her claim, noting that they made defamatory comments referring to her as a dishonest artiste who wasn’t respected by others, that she had an ego and didn’t listen to advice, and used her money and popularity to ensure respect.

The live session was uploaded to YouTube then later deleted by the five defendants but could still be viewed by the public, with the number of views expected to increase. Siti Nordiana stated that this has severely affected her reputation to the public and her sponsors, who appointed her as a model and product ambassador.

Before taking legal action, she claimed that she had her lawyer hand over a Notice of Claim dated to July 26^th by hand and email to all the defendants, demanding, among others, for an apology within 24 hours and compensation of RM200,000.

When the defendants failed to oblige to the terms, the plaintiff demanded that all defendants publish a clear and unconditional apology individually in the newspapers and on Instagram and Facebook continuously for two months or any period as the court deems fair and appropriate.

She’s seeking general damages of RM500,000 from each defendant, special, aggravated and exemplary damages and other relief deemed appropriate by the court. Siti Nordiana’s lawyer said the lawsuit has been conveyed via the Acknowledgement Receipt and emailed to all five defendants. A virtual court date has been fixed for August 9^th for case management.

Source: Bernama