DEFAMATION (诽谤)

The law recognizes every man’s right to give opinion on another person, but generally, a person commits defamation when he publishes to a third person words or matters containing untrue imputation against the reputation of the person defamed.

A defamatory imputation may be libel or slander. For a person who has been defamed to succeed in his claim, he must prove that the words referred to him were defamatory and the words were published for any other persons other than him to view.

The law provides several defences against defamation claim, but if the defences failed, the defendant is liable to pay damages for defaming the Plaintiff.

1.     Libel

Libel consists of a defamatory statement or representative in permanent visible form or is broadcasted or is part of a theatrical performance. Examples of libel are a picture, statue, waxwork effigy or any writing, print, mark or sign exposed to view. Broadcasting here refers to radio communication to the public.

2.     Slander

Slander on the other hand is a defamatory statement or representation in some transient form (non permanent) or is conveyed by spoken words, sounds or gestures. For example, A saying to B that C is a thief, but it’s a false statement, A could have committed defamation against C.

Generally, for the case of slander, the Plaintiff does not need to prove that he has suffered any actual damages, because such damage is presumed (of course there are some exception to this).

Under the Malaysia’s Defamation Act 1957, if any words spoken or published that impute unchastity or adultery to any woman or girl, it shall not require special damage to be proven.

For example, woman A calls woman B a “prostitute” in front of everyone, imputing adultery or unchastity against woman B. Woman A could have committed slander.

Furthermore, any words disparaging another person in any office, profession, trade or business could be considered slander.

For example, in a Malaysia case that took place in 1984, the Court held that the lawyer who called a registrar of the Court corrupted was found liable for slander.  

So, what is defamation? In Malaysia, a defamation could be any imputation which may tend to “lower someone’s image in the eye of the public” or “to expose him to hatred” or “to discredit him” or “to injure his reputation in his office”. Such imputation may be defamatory whether or not it is believed by those who heard or seen it.

There are defences available for the Defendant if he is being sued by a Plaintiff for defamation. The are many defences but generally, these are the defences that are commonly used in a defamation suit.

1.     Justification

A defamatory imputation can be justified if what was said or published is true.

For example, A says to B that C has committed adultery. In this case, if A is sued by C for defamation, A has a defence if A can prove that his statement is true. It is not enough for A to merely believe that C has committed adultery.

2.     Fair comment

Another defence available is where the statement made or published by the Defendant is a fair comment on a matter of public interest.

For example, to say that “A has committed a breach of trust and therefore A is a disgrace to the company”, the word referring A as a disgrace to a company is a plain comment on the true fact that A has committed breach of trust.

However, if A has not been proven to have committed breach of trust, such statement is not a fair comment and could expose the person who made the statement to a defamation suit.

3.     Unintentional defamation

The Malaysia’s law allows the person who committed defamation to avoid paying damages for an unintentional defamation. He must publish a reasonable correction and apology to the defamatory statement made and he must also pay reasonable costs and expenses incurred as a consequences of the publication in question.

As the Chinese saying goes, “Misfortune comes from the words one speaks.”, the above is just a few of a thousands of example for defamation and how it can occur, the best way to avoid being sued for defamatory is to be wary of statement made or published to the public which may involve the reputation of another person, especially in the 21^st century, a lot of defamatory statements can easily find their way to social media like Facebook.

法律承认每个人都有权对他人发表意见。然而，一般而言，如果一个人向第三方发布或传播含有不实指控的言论或内容，并因此损害他人的声誉，该行为便可能构成诽谤。

诽谤可分为书面诽谤（libel）和口头诽谤（slander）。受诽谤者若要成功提出索赔，必须证明有关言论具有诽谤性质、所指对象是该受诽谤者，以及有关言论已向该受诽谤者以外的第三方发布或传播。

法律为诽谤诉讼中的被告提供了若干抗辩理由。若被告无法成功援引任何抗辩理由，则可能须就其对原告作出的诽谤承担责任并支付赔偿。

1. 书面诽谤（Libel）

书面诽谤是指以永久及可见形式作出的诽谤性陈述或表达，亦包括通过广播传播或作为戏剧表演一部分的诽谤性内容。

书面诽谤的例子包括照片、雕像、蜡像，以及任何公开展示的文字、印刷品、标记或符号。在此，“广播”是指通过无线电通讯向公众传播有关内容。

2. 口头诽谤（Slander）

口头诽谤则是指以短暂或非永久形式作出的诽谤性陈述或表达，通常通过口头言语、声音或手势进行传播。

例如，A向B声称C是一名小偷，但该说法并不属实。在这种情况下，A可能已对C构成口头诽谤。

一般而言，在口头诽谤案件中，原告必须证明自己确实遭受了实际或特殊损害。然而，此项原则存在若干例外。在有关例外情况下，法律会推定损害已经发生，原告无须另行证明特殊损害。

根据马来西亚《1957年诽谤法令》，如果任何口头或已发布的言论指称某名女性或女孩行为不贞或通奸，则原告无须证明其遭受特殊损害。

例如，女性A在众人面前称女性B为“妓女”，从而指称女性B行为不贞。在这种情况下，女性A可能已构成口头诽谤。

此外，任何贬损他人在职务、专业、行业或商业方面声誉的言论，也可能构成口头诽谤。

例如，在一宗于1984年审理的马来西亚案件中，一名律师指称法院主簿贪污，法院最终裁定该律师须为口头诽谤承担责任。

那么，什么是诽谤？

在马来西亚，任何可能导致某人在社会公众心目中的评价降低、使其遭受憎恨、蔑视或嘲讽、使其名誉受损，或损害其在职务、专业、行业或商业方面声誉的指控或言论，均可能构成诽谤。

无论听到或看到该言论的人是否相信其内容属实，有关言论仍可能具有诽谤性质。

当被告遭原告起诉诽谤时，被告可援引多种抗辩理由。以下是诽谤诉讼中较为常见的抗辩理由：

1. 真实性抗辩（Justification）

如果有关言论或发布内容在实质上属实，即使其具有诽谤性质，被告仍可援引真实性抗辩。

例如，A向B声称C曾经通奸。如果C以诽谤为由起诉A，只要A能够证明该陈述在实质上属实，A便可援引真实性抗辩。A仅仅相信C曾经通奸，并不足以构成此项抗辩。

2. 公正评论（Fair Comment）

如果被告作出或发布的陈述，是针对涉及公共利益的事项所作出的公正评论，被告也可援引公正评论作为抗辩理由。

例如，假设A违反信托已属于获证实的事实，那么称“A违反了信托，因此他是公司的耻辱”，其中“公司的耻辱”可被视为根据A违反信托这一真实事实而作出的评论。

然而，如果没有证据证明A曾经违反信托，该陈述便可能不属于公正评论，并可能使发表该陈述的人面对诽谤诉讼。

3. 非故意诽谤（Unintentional Defamation）

马来西亚法律允许无意中作出诽谤的人提出补救建议（offer of amends）。有关人士通常须就诽谤性陈述发布适当的更正和道歉，并采取合理措施，将更正和道歉通知曾接触有关诽谤内容的人士。

有关人士也可能须支付因该项发布而产生的合理费用及开支。

结语

正所谓“祸从口出”。

以上仅是成千上万个诽谤例子中的一小部分，也说明了诽谤可能发生的方式。要避免因诽谤而遭到起诉，最好的方法就是在作出或向公众发布任何可能影响他人声誉的言论时保持谨慎。

这在二十一世纪尤其重要，因为诽谤性言论可以轻易地通过脸书等社交媒体平台迅速传播。