THE Attorney-General’s Chambers will be withdrawing the criminal defamation charge against journalist Tashny Sukumaran, who is scheduled to appear at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex tomorrow.

Attorney-General Tommy Thomas told The Malaysian Insight that the defamation charge over a series of tweets last year, alleging inappropriate physical contact during a medical examination, will be withdrawn.

No reasons were given.

Taking to Twitter earlier today, Tashny had said she will be charged tomorrow morning at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex with exposing a harasser.

The 29-year-old alleged she was touched “inappropriately” by a dermatologist when she visited his clinic in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, for an examination last August.

She recounted her experience on social media and was approached by many people who claimed they had endured similar experiences with the same doctor.

She lodged a police report at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters but the case was dropped due to insufficient evidence. Tashny had also filed a complaint with the Malaysian Medical Council.

The dermatologist, Dr Ruban Nathan, spoke out against the allegation, saying that a trained nurse was in attendance during the entire five-minute consultation. He too had lodged a police against the journalist.

In a series of tweets today, the journalist went on to question Thomas’s commitment to preserving freedom of expression, noting that her charge came less than a week after he said such a right continued to exist in Malaysia.

She had also urged readers to turn up in court tomorrow in a show of solidarity and support. – January 14, 2020.