Two priests lose defamation suit against Taoist Federation
Two Taoist priests, who sued the Taoist Federation of Singapore for defamation, had their claims thrown out after a district court judge found they had failed to prove their case.
Ms Lou Ai Pang and Mr Kow Jong Tsuan had alleged that the chairman of the federation defamed them when he “openly said” he was removing them as committee members.
It was over how they managed the financial matters of their respective temples, the duo claimed.
The Taoist priests claimed the insinuations, allegedly made by Mr Tan Thiam Lye during a committee meeting, caused harm to their reputation, goodwill and respect.
Ms Lou and Mr Kow were not present at the meeting where the alleged remarks were made.
To support their case, the pair relied on a series of WhatsApp voice messages that another committee member, Mr Johnny Tan, sent to Ms Lou more than five weeks after the meeting.
The federation, however, highlighted that these messages were not actual recordings of the meeting, but merely a third party giving his views regarding what took place.
It denied that Mr Tan Thiam Lye had uttered the words Ms Lou and Mr Kow referred to.
On Jan 8, district judge James Leong dismissed the defamation suit, saying that Ms Lou and Mr Kow have failed to prove their case. The judge ordered the pair to pay $65,000 in legal costs to the federation.
The Taoist Federation, which describes itself as the only national-level organisation for Taoists in Singapore, counts more than 560 temples as its members.
Ms Lou was the representative of a temple known as Ching Chung Taoist Association, while Mr Kow was the representative of another temple known as Ling Bao Huang Tan.
On Sept 20, 2020, a meeting was held by the federation to elect members for the management committee for the next two years.
Ms Lou and Mr Kow did not attend the meeting.
At the meeting, there was also a unanimous decision for Ching Chung and Ling Bao to be voted out from the committee.
On Oct 29 that year, Mr Johnny Tan sent voice messages to Ms Lou in Mandarin, seemingly to explain the voting outcome.
In the messages, Mr Johnny Tan told Ms Lou that the chairman had nothing against her, but was “furious” with Mr Kow for “countless mistakes”, such as failing to hand over red packets to the federation.
The following month, the federation published notices in Chinese-language newspapers, stating that the memberships of Ching Chung and Ling Bao have been cancelled and that Ms Lou and Mr Kow are no longer associated with the federation.
Ms Lou and Mr Kow, who were represented by Louis Lim and Partners, argued that the chairman’s allegations at the meeting would lead others to infer that their membership in the federation was terminated because of their dishonesty and incompetence.
They alleged that they suffered serious harm to their personal, religious and business reputation.
The federation, represented by Mr Jenson Lee of JL Law Chambers, argued that the voice messages did not in any way support the pair’s claim that Mr Tan had said that they were being removed as committee members due to how they managed the financial matters of their temples.
Even Mr Johnny Tan, who was subpoenaed by Ms Lou and Mr Kow, testified that Mr Tan Thiam Lye had never said such a thing during the Sept 20, 2020 meeting, the lawyer argued.
Speaking to The Straits Times, Mr Lee said: “The legal proceedings have dragged on for over three years and my clients are very heartened that justice has ultimately prevailed with the plaintiffs’ claims entirely dismissed.”
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