Maggie Ho reports
Development Secretary Paul Chan has lost a legal bid to reduce the amount of compensation he and his wife have to pay for making defamatory comments about their children's schoolmates.
The Chans were earlier ordered to pay HK$230,000 to a pair of twins and their father, after sending emails to school management and parents saying the kids had cheated.
The couple asked the High Court for the amount to be reduced. They said it's because two of the defamatory emails were sent under what's called "qualified privilege" – when one is in a position to make claims that would otherwise be deemed libellous.
They explained that it's because they shared with the recipients of the emails the same sets of interests, including the preservation of the school's reputation and its academic integrity.
The judge agreed they enjoyed the privilege, but refused to reduce the amount of compensation. He said all the defamatory emails were sent at about the same time, and the damage they did was the same.
He also ordered the Chans to shoulder 60 percent of the other side's legal costs.
The Chans were earlier ordered to pay HK$230,000 to a pair of twins and their father, after sending emails to school management and parents saying the kids had cheated.
The couple asked the High Court for the amount to be reduced. They said it's because two of the defamatory emails were sent under what's called "qualified privilege" – when one is in a position to make claims that would otherwise be deemed libellous.
They explained that it's because they shared with the recipients of the emails the same sets of interests, including the preservation of the school's reputation and its academic integrity.
The judge agreed they enjoyed the privilege, but refused to reduce the amount of compensation. He said all the defamatory emails were sent at about the same time, and the damage they did was the same.
He also ordered the Chans to shoulder 60 percent of the other side's legal costs.
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1215980-20151007.htm
