HK$630m BaWang shampoo libel case hears from Apple Daily's 'Fearless Hung'
Ex Next Magazine content consultant, whose motto is publish if you've got the guts, denies article was 'biased and sensationalised'.
A former Next Magazine content consultant denied in court on Wednesday that an article alleging herbal shampoo manufacturer BaWang International's products could cause cancer was "biased and sensationalised".
Cheung Kim-hung, Apple Daily's associate publisher, was testifying in a HK$630 million defamation claim against his former employer over a magazine article on July 14, 2010, which claimed BaWang's shampoos contained 1,4-Dioxane, a carcinogenic substance. Next Magazine and Apple Daily are sister publications of Next Media.
Cheung, who has earned the nickname "Fearless Hung" in the media industry, expressed his disagreement when barrister Jason Pow SC, for BaWang, said: "Your conduct was reckless as to the truth of the content of your article and your article was deliberately biased and sensational."
The Court of First Instance heard that Cheung's motto was: "As long as you have the guts, you publish."
It also heard that BaWang provided a written response to the magazine's claims the day before publication through a public relations firm, setting out 1,4-Dioxane's international safety standards. Pow said that had Cheung read the reply carefully, he would have taken steps to ascertain whether BaWang's stance was substantiated. "We already provided sufficient opportunities for them to reply," Cheung said.
Asked if he had ignored the response and failed to put the company's view into the article fairly, Cheung replied: "I could only agree that we did not report everything they provided to us."