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Caitlin Lu said emails sent out by Paul Chan Mo-po and his wife, Frieda Hui Po-ming, in December 2011 targeted her and her brother Jonathan.

Paul Chan's accusations of exam cheating 'still hurt', student says

Schoolmate of minister's daughter tells defamation trial of horror at seeing emails

JULIE CHU

The defamation trial of Development Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po and his wife yesterday heard from the young woman they allegedly falsely accused, along with her twin brother, of cheating in an exam at their daughter's school.

Caitlin Lu said emails sent out by Chan and his wife, Frieda Hui Po-ming, in December 2011 targeted her and her brother Jonathan using words like "spotted cheating", "caught cheating" and "covered up by their father", a governor at the school.

She and her twin - now 20 and studying at Stanford University in the United States - and their father, Carl Lu, are suing the minister and his wife for defamation.

Caitlin Lu told the Court of First Instance that the saga began when some girls claimed they saw Jonathan glance towards her during an economics test at the Chinese International School, North Point, in November 2011.

She said their suspicions were reported to the teacher who then talked to her and compared the twins' test papers. The teacher found no trace of cheating.

Caitlin said one of her friends was among the group of students who sparked the rumour and was the first to inform her about it, in private, in the stairwell.

She said the next day Chan's and Hui's daughter, Joyce, asked her about the rumour in a classroom where others could hear.

She said her family obtained Chan's and Hui's emails that had been sent to more than 10 other parents from the school in January 2012. When she read them, she felt horrified, the court heard.

She added: "I was very upset. It was just like a team of parents were joining together to attack me and my brother. Three years later, I still feel very hurt."

She said the incident had distanced her from the friend involved in the rumour. They had only met once since graduating.

Chan and Hui say the emails were intended to limit damage to the school's reputation.

The trial before Mr Justice Anthony To Kwai-fung continues on Monday.

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Paul Chan's accusations of cheating 'still hurt'
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