Solicitor Shek Yuet-hey sues journalists at Filipino community paper The Sun for libel over assault case reports
Hong Kong Free Press
Two journalists at a news outlet serving Hong Kong’s Filipino community are being sued for libel over their reporting on an assault case involving solicitor Jacob Shek Yuet-hey.
The Sun had reported on a case last year in which Filipina domestic worker Romalyn Marinay stood accused of three counts of common assault against her male employer, Shek. Marinay was represented by Senior Counsel Selwyn Yu.
Marinay was last month acquitted of all charges. Eastern Courts Magistrate Minnie Wat also allowed the defence to recover costs from the prosecution.
The Sun libel claims
On February 7, journalists Daisy C.L. Mandap and Leo A. Deocadiz received a writ of summons that claimed two online news articles published by the The Sun relating to the court case had defamed Shek. The claim, obtained by HKFP, also sought to reclaim costs and an injunction on further distribution of the articles.
Robertsons law firm, representing Shek, told HKFP last Friday that it respected freedom of speech and that of the press. “However, such freedom is not absolute and is subject to the law relating to defamation, particularly when the contents of the publication are false, inaccurate and misleading,” the firm said. The statement added that it was unable to comment further on an active case.
The Sun journalists have engaged prominent human rights solicitors firm Daly & Associates.
With the writ served, media outlets are not permitted to repeat allegedly defamatory content until the matter is considered in court.
Under local law, any person who maliciously, knowingly publishes defamatory libel faces up to two years in prison in addition to a fine.
Established in 1995, The Sun serves the city’s largest ethnic minority group. It has also given special coverage to issues surrounding abuse and scams suffered by Filipino migrant workers. Previously a printed publication, it suffered a drop in advertising revenue amid the 2019 protests and unrest, plus the closure of Apple Daily which published its hard copies. The paper was forced to downsize, and is now an online outlet run solely by Mandap and Deocadiz.
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