Hong Kong judge sides with whistle-blower in defamation case over mouldy Hoi Tin Tong turtle jelly
- Judge finds accusation that herbal products chain had instructed employees to wash, resell mouldy jellies to be truthful
- Despite whistle-blower exhibiting dubious ‘commercial morality’, he cannot be held accountable for report that led to scandal, judge rules
Hong Kong herbal products chain Hoi Tin Tong has failed to clear its name over damning news reports that it served mould-infested turtle jelly to customers, with a court on Monday taking the side of a whistle-blower in finding the allegations to indeed be true.
Lawyers for the company denied it had ordered, encouraged or condoned such malpractice, and argued that Choy had conspired with the Apple Daily reporter and the shopkeeper to injure Hoi Tin Tong’s reputation by staging the scenes in the videos accompanying a report on September 12, 2013. The Oriental Daily and its now-defunct sister paper, The Sun, also ran reports of Choy making similar allegations on the same day.
At the time, Choy had just severed ties with the company and set up a rival business selling traditional Chinese herbal products after his repeated complaints about the quality of jellies were reportedly brushed aside.
Hoi Tin Tong, meanwhile, boasted close to 200 outlets in Hong Kong and on mainland China, and was producing its signature jellies at a rate of 40,000 to 50,000 tubs a day at its factory in Huizhou, in Guangdong province.