A Hong Kong magazine has been ordered to pay the husband of China's most famous film actress, Gong Li, $200,000 in damages for an article that claimed he was living off her income.
But the amount was one dollar less than the original offer made by the defendant, Sudden Weekly, in an attempt to settle the case out of court.
Businessman Ooi Hoe Seong was not present when the verdict was given in the Court of First Instance by a six-member jury last night after seven hours of deliberation.
Mr Ooi told the court the magazine ran an article in December 2002 alleging he was at a low point in his career, forcing his wife to take on more movies and commercial shoots.
He also said he had been 'downgraded to a criminal' by the article, which falsely claimed that he was involved in illegal tobacco trading on the mainland.
The Sudden Weekly report had been picked up by two major Singaporean newspapers.
Mr Ooi said he, his wife and his parents felt humiliated and angry about the article. He claimed that his business had also been adversely affected.