Freedom of speech | Defamation trial over P. Horizon comments starts next month

The developer of the Pearl Horizon project, Polytec group, has sued both a columnist and the director of the newspaper Son Pou for defamation.

The director of the Chinese newspaper, Chao Chong Peng, told the Times yesterday that the trial has been scheduled to start on October 3 in the Court of First Instance.

“We are waiting for the court’s verdict [and trial]. We have [only] been communicating [with Polytec] through our lawyers,” he said.

Chao told the Times that Polytec wants the defendants to apologize and to issue a payment of MOP2 million.

Polytec’s reason for the lawsuit is that writer Lei Kong [the defendant] commented on a column published on Son Pou last year stating that for the Pearl Horizon project, Polytec is suspected of fraud for not complying with the contract to hand the houses to buyers.

Chao subsequently wrote a column on Son Pou’s Facebook page, asserting that Polytec’s legal action is exerting pressure on the newspaper and is an attempt to suppress freedom of speech.

“This time, Polytec’s lawsuit is in bad faith, and is an attempt to suppress freedom of speech. The column, in which Polytec is accused of being under suspicion of fraud, shows that the writer was commenting and analyzing the Pearl Horizon case objectively, and is also based on the perspective of an economist,” Chao wrote. “[The column] was even trying to provide a reasonable and legal solution to the settlement of the case, in particular, after [the developer] could not deliver the houses that had been already sold. During the short period between the approval [for the property project’s development] and the land being taken back by the government, and that other parties believed [Pearl Horizon] would not be able to complete the construction, as an existing fact,” the Son Pou director continued.

“I thank [the columnist] for taking the pressure coming from the attempted suppression of freedom of speech. The [second] author is accused of defamation. […] The suppression of freedom of speech was clearly demonstrated, and is unprecedented in Macau,” said Chao.

Lei has not been writing columns since he received the lawsuit notification, Chao informed the Times.

“Everything that’s written in the article is in accordance with the law and is in the best interests of the public,” said Chao.

Contacted by the Times, writer Lei also commented that Polytec’s move is to “not let the media, whom they dislike, talk and criticize them.”

Lei had been writing for Son Pou for approximately 30 years.

“Because of this incident, I do not dare to write, and I can’t write either,” Lei told the Times.

In Lei’s opinion, this lawsuit “is a serious incident, and it harms the freedom of press.”