Court Grants Substituted Service Of Writ Against Rita Rudaini

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 (Bernama) -- The High Court has granted an application by two academics who head the Badan Pemuafakatan Pendidikan Mara Malaysia (Muafakat) of Maktab Rendah Sains MARA (MRSM) Sungai Besar, Sabak Bernam, to serve a writ of summons against the actress Rita Rudaini by way of substituted service.

The writ of summons is related to a defamation suit against Rita by MRSM Sungai Besar Muafakat chairman, Prof Dr Mohd Roslan Mohd Nor, and deputy chairman, Dr Saidah Haris @ Harith. 

The claims relate to allegedly defamatory statements from the actress, whose full name is Rita Rudaini Mohammad @ Mokhtar, including references to the 'prof kangkung' controversy surrounding the Muafakat leadership.

The plaintiffs' counsel, Datuk Adnan Seman, said yesterday that the court granted the application because two court documents from his clients could not be served on Rita, the defendant, at her last known address.

"The plaintiffs then attempted to serve the court documents on her via WhatsApp, but no Notice of Appearance was filed in court," he said.

"In light of this, during yesterday's proceedings, the court granted the application for substituted service, allowing the writ to be served via an alternative method," he said when contacted by the media today.

Adnan said the court granted the plaintiffs one month to effect this substituted service and set the next case management for Feb 26.

The plaintiffs had filed the suit against Rita on Dec 6 last year, claiming that she published several defamatory posts referring to them via her Instagram account and WhatsApp, specifically within her WhatsApp status.

The plaintiffs further assert that these defamatory statements are false and constitute defamation, causing them significant harm.

They allege that the defendant’s statements were made with malice, with the intent to damage their reputations, and were published recklessly and without substantial evidence.

-- BERNAMA