Appeals court upholds RM100,000 award in damages to comedian

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal here today upheld a high court decision to award RM100,000 in damages to actor and comedian Johan Raja Lawak who sued a drama film director and his company for injuries sustained by the entertainer.

The three-member panel chaired by Justice Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus however, set aside the RM20,000 damages awarded by the high court to Johan's wife, Rozlinawaty Ismail.

The panel, also comprising justices Datuk David Wong Dak Wah and Datuk Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid, unanimously allowed the appeal by director Mohd Javed Mohd Nizar and his production company, Juara Filem Sdn Bhd on liability and damages awarded to Rozlinawaty, but dismissed their appeal on liability and quantum of damages to Johan.

Mohd Hishamudin dismissed Mohd Javed's appeal on the RM50,000 in legal costs which the high court had awarded to Johan, whose real name is Mohammad Yazid Lim Mohamad Aziz.

The judge also awarded RM10,000 in legal costs to Mohd Javed for court proceedings in the Court of Appeal.
On July 18, 2010, Johan, 29, and Rozlinawaty, who is also known as Ozlynn Wati, 32, filed a RM1 million civil suit against Mohd Javed and his company for injuries sustained by the couple during a discussion held at a restaurant in Sikamat, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan in May the same year.

In their statement of claim, they alleged that Mohd Javed had assaulted Johan causing injuries on his forehead, and his wife also claimed she was hit when she tried to stop Mohd Javed and another production crew from hitting Johan.

The couple alleged that Mohd Javed had flipped their table out of anger.

Mohd Javed was appealing against the high court decision on July 7, last year to order him and his company to pay RM100,000 in damages to Johan and RM20,000 damages to Rozlinawaty.

Lawyers R. Jayasingam and Baljit Singh represented Mohd Javed and his company while Johan and Rozlinawaty were represented by Suhaimi Saad. – Bernama