CONTROVERSIAL blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, widely known as Papagomo, has been sentenced to 30 days in prison by the High Court here after being found guilty of contempt of court.
He was also ordered to pay RM30,000 in legal costs to former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain.
The sentence was handed down by Judicial Commissioner Gan Techiong, who allowed Razarudin’s committal application against the blogger. However, the court granted a stay of execution pending appeal.
In his ruling, Gan found that the social media apology posted by Papagomo on 1 May was neither genuine nor remorseful.
"The defendant is a seasoned social media user. If he truly intended to apologise, he knew how to do so properly—be it on YouTube, TikTok, or X. Instead, the inclusion of P Ramlee’s song *Maafkan Kami* as background music made the video resemble entertainment rather than a sincere apology,” said Gan.
The court imposed two separate 15-day prison terms—one for failing to properly apologise in line with a court order, and another for subsequently uploading a new video that demonstrated no contrition.
The case stems from a RM3 million defamation suit filed by Razarudin in December 2023 over a series of social media posts made by Papagomo, which also implicated Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The High Court granted an injunction in January 2024, prohibiting the blogger or his agents from publishing defamatory content against Razarudin pending resolution of the lawsuit.
Despite that, Papagomo continued to upload defamatory content, prompting Razarudin to seek leave for committal proceedings, which was granted in February.
On 30 April, Papagomo appeared in court and issued a verbal apology, claiming to unconditionally regret a social media post dated 14 January that had demeaned Razarudin. He also apologised for uploading an edited image of the former police chief the following day.
He pledged to upload the apology across YouTube, Telegram, X, and TikTok and to keep the content visible for at least seven days. However, the apology video’s light-hearted tone and music undermined its credibility, according to the judge.
The court further ordered Papagomo to retract and delete defamatory videos published on 14, 15, 20, and 22 December last year across his various social media platforms. - August 27, 2025
