KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 30 -- Bersatu's Badrul Hisham Shaharin, better known as Chegubard, and content creator Nurpais Ismail claim they were never served with a defamation suit filed by businessman Farhash Wafa Salvador and were "shocked" to learn of it only after the High Court awarded RM550,000 in damages against them.

Yesterday, the court ruled in Farhash's favour, finding that Badrul had made "serious, damaging and actionable" statements in a podcast last year that portrayed Farhash as corrupt and manipulative.

The court held that Badrul was the "originator" of the defamatory statements and Nurpais was the "publisher who disseminated them."

The duo's lawyer, Rafique Rashid Ali, said today his clients only found out about the lawsuit af...