Judge rules Caprice defamed Ebit, orders apology and RM200,000 compensation

PETALING JAYA, Aug 17 — The Shah Alam Sessions Court today ordered social media personality Ariz Ramli, better known as Caprice, to pay RM200,000 in damages to preacher Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew in a defamation case.

According to Free Malaysia Today (FMT), the ruling was delivered by Judge Zuhrina Nor, who found that Caprice had defamed the preacher in 2023 through seven statements made with Indonesian influencer Mondy Tattoo.

Zuhrina directed Ariz to issue an apology and retract the remarks within 48 hours, and also awarded RM20,000 in costs to Ebit.

The court granted a seven day ad interim stay on the damages payment to allow Caprice time to file a formal stay application, should he choose to appeal to the High Court.

The case stemmed from a video clip uploaded in September 2023 featuring Mondy on a podcast, in which Ebit alleged that seven statements implied he had sexually abused the Indonesian and exploited religion, damaging his reputation.

Ebit argued that Caprice acted maliciously by publishing the video without verifying its contents, which led to him being targeted by negative comments online, FMT reported.

In the proceedings, Ebit was represented by counsel Akberdin Abdul Kader, while Caprice was represented by Rezan Ezra Mosinal.