TSANG PO MANN v. TSANG KA KITAND ANOTHER

TSANG PO MANN v. TSANG KA KITAND ANOTHER

The court accepted the claimant's unchallenged evidence that publication of the Letter (Words plus CCTV‑derived Photos) caused genuine anxiety and injury to feelings; the Photos, though not overtly offensive, supported the Words and exacerbated anxiety because they were taken from CCTV covering the claimant's residence and created a real threat of repetition. The Couple's factual denials were rejected as not credible. Leave to appeal was refused for lack of reasonable prospect. Special circumstances existed to award costs against the Couple for the PDPO claim (but not indemnity costs); the defamation claim failure entitled the Couple to recover at most 50% of their defamation defence...

Citation
[2021] HKDC 648
Parties
Plaintiff: Tsang Po Mann; 1st Defendant: Tsang Ka Kit; 2nd Defendant: So Siu Ki also known as Sukie So
Court
District Court
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
28 May 2021
Case Number
DCCJ4891/2016
Procedural Posture
Personal Data (privacy) Ordinance Claim and Defamation (civil Action) / Post Trial Disposal of Summonses: Leave to Appeal and Applications to Vary Costs Order Nisi
Outcome
Leave to appeal refused; Couple's summons to vary costs order nisi granted in part by varying order to each party to bear their own costs of the entire action; Madam Tsang's summons to vary costs order nisi dismissed; specified costs allocation for post‑trial applications and certificates for counsel granted.
Legal Topics
Personal Data (privacy) Ordinance (pdpo) S66, Leave to Appeal (dco S63 A), Costs Allocation in PDPO Proceedings (dco S73 F(3)), Injury to Feelings, Causation Between Publication and Non‑consensual Images, Quantum of Damages, Evidence Assessment and Credibility
Source Language
EN
Data Protection Privacy Law Defamation Civil Procedure Costs Law Personal Data (privacy) Ordinance (pdpo) S66 Leave to Appeal (dco S63 A) Costs Allocation in PDPO Proceedings (dco S73 F(3)) +4 more

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Parties

Tsang Po Mann

Plaintiff

Tsang Ka Kit

1st Defendant

So Siu Ki also known as Sukie So

2nd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Personal Data (privacy) Ordinance Claim and Defamation (civil Action) / Post Trial Disposal of Summonses: Leave to Appeal and Applications to Vary Costs Order Nisi

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether leave to appeal should be granted under DCO s63A(2)(a)
  2. 2 Whether misuse of CCTV‑derived photos contravened the PDPO and caused injury to feelings
  3. 3 Causation: whether injury arose from the Photos or the Words in the Letter or both

Ratio Decidendi

The court accepted the claimant's unchallenged evidence that publication of the Letter (Words plus CCTV‑derived Photos) caused genuine anxiety and injury to feelings; the Photos, though not overtly offensive, supported the Words and exacerbated anxiety because they were taken from CCTV covering the claimant's residence and created a real threat of repetition. The Couple's factual denials were rejected as not credible. Leave to appeal was refused for lack of reasonable prospect. Special circumstances existed to award costs against the Couple for the PDPO claim (but not indemnity costs); the defamation claim failure entitled the Couple to recover at most 50% of their defamation defence...

Court Disposition

Leave to appeal refused; Couple's summons to vary costs order nisi granted in part by varying order to each party to bear their own costs of the entire action; Madam Tsang's summons to vary costs order nisi dismissed; specified costs allocation for post‑trial applications and certificates for counsel granted.

Orders

  • Couple's summons for leave to appeal dismissed
  • Order nisi varied: each party shall bear its own costs of the entire action including any previous costs reserved