LOK KWAI FU AND ANDOTHER v. Y.C. CHAN AND OTHERS

LOK KWAI FU AND ANDOTHER v. Y.C. CHAN AND OTHERS

The court found on the evidence and language nuances that the impugned articles referred to the plaintiffs, were defamatory, false and published with malice; the defendants admitted roles as supervisor, publisher and printer or were properly served and absent; accordingly all three defendants were jointly and severally liable and plaintiffs were entitled to compensatory and exemplary damages, an injunction and costs.

Citation
LOK KWAI FU AND ANDOTHER v. Y.C. CHAN AND OTHERS
Parties
1st Plaintiff: Lok Kwai Fu alias Kam Tung alias Koo Lung; 2nd Plaintiff: Madam Lui Yau Wai; 1st Defendant: Y.C. Chan; 2nd Defendant: New Time Publication Company; 3rd Defendant: Wah Li Printing Press
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
2 February 1978
Case Number
HCA891/1977
Procedural Posture
Libel/defamation / High Court Judgment at Trial (2 February 1978)
Outcome
Judgment for 1st and 2nd plaintiffs against all three defendants jointly and severally; injunction granted; costs awarded to plaintiffs; return of exhibits ordered.
Legal Topics
Libel, Damages, Injunction, Service of Process, Representation
Source Language
EN
Defamation Tort Civil Procedure Libel Damages Injunction Service of Process Representation

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 3 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 5
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Lok Kwai Fu alias Kam Tung alias Koo Lung

1st Plaintiff

Madam Lui Yau Wai

2nd Plaintiff

Y.C. Chan

1st Defendant

New Time Publication Company

2nd Defendant

Wah Li Printing Press

3rd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Libel/defamation / High Court Judgment at Trial (2 February 1978)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the impugned publications were referable to the plaintiffs (identification)
  2. 2 Whether the publications were defamatory
  3. 3 Whether the publications were false and published with malice

Ratio Decidendi

The court found on the evidence and language nuances that the impugned articles referred to the plaintiffs, were defamatory, false and published with malice; the defendants admitted roles as supervisor, publisher and printer or were properly served and absent; accordingly all three defendants were jointly and severally liable and plaintiffs were entitled to compensatory and exemplary damages, an injunction and costs.

Court Disposition

Judgment for 1st and 2nd plaintiffs against all three defendants jointly and severally; injunction granted; costs awarded to plaintiffs; return of exhibits ordered.

Orders

  • Judgment for 1st plaintiff: compensatory damages $30,000 HKD and exemplary damages $20,000 HKD
  • Judgment for 2nd plaintiff: compensatory damages $50,000 HKD and exemplary damages $50,000 HKD