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JULIE CHU

A family requested HK$9 million in compensation from Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po and his wife for alleging that twin siblings cheated in a school test, a court heard yesterday.
Chan and his wife, Frieda Hui Po-ming, received a letter from Carl Lu and his twins, Jonathan Lu and Caitlin Lu, demanding the payout after the Lus sued them for defamation in 2012, said barrister Jason Pow SC, who is representing the couple.
The twins were schoolmates with the Chans' daughter, Joyce, at the Chinese International School, where Carl Lu was a governor. All three pupils graduated in 2012.
Pow said the letter requested the Chans compensate each of the three Lus.
"In this case, there are three plaintiffs and it will make the total amount HK$9 million," he told the Court of First Instance.
Hui told the court she found the amount unreasonable.
The Lus are suing the Chans for sending emails to parents of other pupils in December 2011 that wrongly accused the twins of cheating on a test and then avoiding punishment because of their father's position in the school.
Yesterday, Hui told the court how much the lawsuit ordeal had affected her own family.
"We were not targeting the Lu family; we don't understand why they have to pick on us," she said.
Hui said that when the High Court writ announcing the suit was delivered to their home in March 2012, her daughter Joyce was at home preparing for an important examination. Joyce was so worried that she cried until her eyes became swollen, she said.
Hui defended her decision, along with her husband, to leave their seats during Jonathan Lu's speech as the head boy at his May 2012 graduation ceremony.
"I have every right to express my sentiments," Hui said. "Frankly speaking, I could not bear the sight of Jonathan. I didn't want to get personal. I didn't want to upset him as I could not imagine my facial expression. The best thing I could do was to walk out from my row of seats quietly."
Hui added that she had heard in court of the pain the Lus suffered in the incident, and her heart was with them.
"I knelt down before a cross and prayed for them for 40 days earlier this year," she said. "I asked God to give them blessings, to let the light of God shine on them and heal their wounds.
"It is not easy for me to pray for enemies who are accusing us. I did it, believe it or not."
Pow said the Lus wanted compensation according to a libel precedent set in 2001, when a lawyer sued Apple Daily for accusing her of fraud in a news report that caused her law firm to almost collapse. Anguish over the front-page story caused the lawyer to give birth prematurely, according to a court judgment that awarded her compensation of HK$3 million.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Anthony To Kwai-fung on Monday.
 


Family seeks HK$9 million from Paul Chan and wife in school libel case

Frieda Hui with her husband Paul Chan. Photo: Edward Wong


News

Hong Kong

Former pupils and their father demanded payouts of HK$3 million each over 'defamatory emails' sent to parents by Chan and his wife


A family requested HK$9 million in compensation from Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po and his wife for alleging that twin siblings cheated in a school test, a court heard yesterday.


Family seeks HK$9 million from Paul Chan and wife in school libel case

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Former pupils and their father demanded payouts of HK$3 million each over 'defamatory emails' sent to parents by Chan and his wife

Former pupils and their father demanded payouts of HK$3 million each over 'defamatory emails' sent to parents by Chan and his wife