Lou Ai Pang (left) and Kow Jong Tsuan had alleged that the chairman of the Taoist Federation of Singapore defamed them. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: 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.
Lou Ai Pang and 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 Tan Thiam Lye during a committee meeting, caused harm to their reputation, goodwill and respect.
Lou and 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, Johnny Tan, sent to 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 Tan Thiam Lye had uttered the words Lou and Kow referred to.
On Wednesday (Jan 8), district judge James Leong dismissed the defamation suit, saying that Lou and Kow have failed to prove their case.
The judge ordered the pair to pay S$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.
Lou was the representative of a temple known as Ching Chung Taoist Association, while 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.
Lou and 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, Johnny Tan sent voice messages to Lou in Mandarin, seemingly to explain the voting outcome.
In the messages, Johnny Tan told Lou that the chairman had nothing against her, but was “furious” with 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 Lou and Kow are no longer associated with the federation.
Lou and 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 Jenson Lee of JL Law Chambers, argued that the voice messages did not in any way support the pair’s claim that Tan had said that they were being removed as committee members due to how they managed the financial matters of their temples.
Even Johnny Tan, who was subpoenaed by Lou and Kow, testified that Tan Thiam Lye had never said such a thing during the Sept 20, 2020 meeting, the lawyer argued.
Speaking to The Straits Times, 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.” - The Straits Times/ANN
