Cover image via CNA
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A housewife in Singapore has been ordered to pay SGD25,000 (about RM82,000) in damages after a court found her liable for defaming a company that imports and sells produce from Taiwan
According to a judgment released on Tuesday, 9 September, the case was brought by D'Season, which specialises in the import and sale of Taiwanese goods, against Sophia Wu Chao Wen over a Facebook post she made in March 2022.
In her post, Wu, who is originally from Taiwan, shared photos of kale and bean sprouts, alongside a screenshot from a Chinese article warning against eating blackened sprouts.
She wrote:
She further compared the produce to food tossed on the ground for rabbits, and suggested that consuming it could send customers to the hospital, reported CNA.
The post, visible to her 410 Facebook friends, attracted 43 reactions
When asked where the vegetables came from, Wu referenced a past incident where D'Season allegedly sold overripe lychees in 2021.
D'Season later issued a letter of demand asking Wu to remove the post and publish an apology.
While she deleted the post, she did not apologise.
The company claimed that her statements implied it sold poisonous vegetables, cheated customers, and used chemicals while marketing them as organic.
Wu denied defaming the company, saying she only shared an article she believed to be true, and that she had no intent to link her comments to D'Season
She also claimed she deleted the post soon after.
The court, however, ruled that her words were defamatory as they would lead a reasonable reader to view the company as dishonest or improper.
The judge awarded D'Season SGD15,000 (about RM49,000) in general damages and SGD10,000 (about RM33,000) in special damages, with interest of 5.33% per annum until payment.
