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Lam Sing-yin is being sued by his son. Photo: Felix Wong

Son's defamation lawsuit 'broke father's heart' after poster campaign

Austin Chiu

An elderly father being sued by his doctor son for defamation spoke yesterday of the heart-rending pain of rejection inflicted by the child he "used to love most among my children".

Thoughts of ending his life crossed his mind and he was compelled to seek psychiatric help, but Lam Sing-yin, 72, told the High Court he still loved his son.

The father admits distributing posters near the Lam Tin clinic of his estranged son, Dr Lam Chuen-lung, alleging that the doctor cheated him out of money and property. The posters also claimed the doctor repeated three years of education and did not complete his medical studies until he was 28 years old.

The father says he distributed the posters, which were also left near the schools of the doctor's children, to vent his frustration after his son "framed" him, causing him to be arrested for criminal intimidation on December 29, 2009.

"Now that he has money and luck, he says I harassed him," said the father.

"He framed me. I was chained in the street like a dog," the father said of his arrest. Turning to his son, he continued: "I brought you up and you framed me. How could I face the world? I am a poor man. I feel very pained."

The father was convicted of confronting his son with a knife, but won an appeal against the judgment. He put the posters up after that ruling.

Mr Justice David Lok Kai-hong asked why he had put up the posters when the act would clearly affect his son, and whether he regretted that it had affected his grandchildren.

The senior Lam replied: "I didn't know it would have any bad repercussions, I just wanted to vent my frustration. I didn't think of the consequences. I'm not educated. I was emotional at that time.

"I couldn't bear it. I tried to take away the window grills to jump off the building.

"He treated me badly. I'm heartbroken but I still love him. I used to love him most among my children."

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Son's lawsuit 'broke father's heart'
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