Google, blogger sued by restaurant for RM6mil

[Hanzo Kattori]

Published: Wednesday January 26, 2011 MYT 2:51:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday January 26, 2011 MYT 3:50:35 PM

Google, blogger sued by restaurant for RM6mil

By MUGUNTAN VANAR

KOTA KINABALU: A popular Indian cuisine restaurant here that is recommended by travel guide Lonely Planet, is suing a blogger and Google for defamation.

Jothy's Fish Head Curry restaurant director Tharumaraj Sivaperumal filed a RM6mil civil suit at the Kota Kinabalu High Court here Monday, naming blogger Poh Huai Bin as first defendant and California-based Google Inc as second defendant.

The suit is arising from some allegedly defamatory statements about Jothy's Fish Head Curry restaurant posted in May last year by Poh, originally from Sibu in Sarawak and now residing in Kuala Lumpur. Jothy's, represented by counsel Marcel Jude Joseph, is seeking exemplary or punitive damages to deter them from making similar statements in future and an order to restrain Poh from defaming the restaurant on the Internet.

Jothy's is also seeking an order from the court to remove the offending articles from Google and other popular search engines used on the Internet. The company claimed that the alleged defamatory statements published by both the defendants tended to prejudice against the plaintiff in the conduct of its business and deter others from dealing with it and were injurious to the business.

As a result of the defendants' action, the plaintiff claimed it had suffered loss and damage, and its reputation had been affected both locally and internationally.

The plaintiff claimed that the good reputation of the restaurant, in operation since 1987, was known globally and reported as a well-known destination in Kota Kinabalu and Sabah, in the global television and book series Lonely Planet, referred to as an authority for tourists throughout the world.

The plaintiff also claimed that the posting and articles of the first defendant were available and read by Internet users throughout Sabah and Malaysia, adding that the second defendant conducted business within the jurisdiction of Malaysian courts because its search engine was used regularly by Internet users in the country.

 

[Hanzo Kattori]

Thursday January 27, 2011

Google and blogger sued by curry fish head restaurant

By MUGUNTAN VANAR
[email protected]

KOTA KINABALU: The director of a fish head curry restaurant which is recommended by Lonely Planet is suing a blogger and Google for defamation.

Jothys Sdn Bhd director Tharumaraj Sivaperumal filed a RM6mil civil suit at the Kota Kinabalu High Court, naming blogger Poh Huai Bin as the first defendant and California-based Google Inc as the second defendant.

The suit filed on Monday is over allegedly defamatory statements made about Jothys Fish Head Curry Restaurant here which was posted in May last year by Poh, who is originally from Sibu, Sarawak and now resides in Kuala Lumpur.

The company, which is represented by counsel Marcel Jude Joseph, is seeking exemplary or punitive damages and an order to restrain Poh from defaming the restaurant on the Internet.

Lonely place: Tharumaraj says business at his restaurant in Kota Kinabalu has been affected by the blogger’s negative postings.

The company is also seeking an order from the court to remove the offending articles from Google and other popular search engines used on the Internet.

The company claimed that the alleged defamatory statements published by both defendants would be injurious to its business.

Tharumaraj said he felt very let down when the blogger demeaned his fish head curry and banana leaf restaurant and urged the people to “avoid it like a bad case of herpes”.

“There were many people who posted positive things about my restaurant in his blog but it was removed and only the negative chats were kept,’’ he said, adding that he did not know the blogger.

On why he decided to sue Google, he said if one used Yahoo or other search engines, the offending blog does not appear immediately but in Google, it would show up first.

As a result of the defendants’ action, Tharumaraj claimed he suffered losses and damages and his restaurant’s reputation had been affected, both locally and internationally.

The plaintiff claimed that the restaurant, which opened in 1987, was known globally and had been reported as a well-known destination in Sabah in a global TV and book series known as Lonely Planet, which was an authority for tourists throughout the world.

The company also claimed that Google conducts business within the jurisdiction of Malaysian courts by reason of the fact that its search engine is used regularly by Internet users in the country.

When contacted, a Google official in Kuala Lumpur said the company could not comment on cases that were in litigation.

 

[Red Squadron]

Saturday January 29, 2011

Google to retain ‘offensive’ contents on fish head curry outlet

KOTA KINABALU: Search engine giant Google has said that it cannot remove Internet contents deemed offensive to a fish head curry restaurant here. A company spokesman said in a statement that Google’s policy does not allow it to remove contents provided through its searches except for illegal matters such as child pornography among others.

Furthermore, the search results Google provided to users reflected the contents available on the Internet, the spokesman added. “In these cases or in cases where we are compelled by local or international law to remove content, we make these actions transparent using public, third party sites such as ChillingEffects.com,” the official added.

On Monday, the director of a fish head curry restaurant that is recommended by Lonely Planet, sued a blogger and Google for defamation.
Jothys Sdn Bhd director Tharumaraj Sivaperumal filed a RM6mil civil suit at the Kota Kinabalu High Court.

He named blogger Poh Huai Bin as the first defendant and California-based Google Inc as the second defendant. The suit was over allegedly defamatory statements made about Jothys Fish Head Curry Restaurant here which was posted in May last year by Poh, who is originally from Sibu, Sarawak and who now resides in Kuala Lumpur.

The company, which is represented by counsel Marcel Jude Joseph, is seeking exemplary or punitive damages and an order to restrain Poh from defaming the restaurant on the Internet. The company is also seeking an order from the court to remove the offending articles from Google and other popular search engines used on the Internet.

Tharumaraj said he felt very let down when the blogger demeaned his fish head curry and banana leaf restaurant and urged the people to “avoid it like a bad case of herpes.” He added that if one used Yahoo or other search engines, the offending blog does not appear immediately but in Google, it would show up first.