Cha v Oh (No. 22) (Part 2)

In the matter of Cha v Oh (No. 22) (Part 2), the parties involved were Cha, the plaintiff, and Oh and others, the defendants, engaged in a defamation case. The court was tasked with resolving various interlocutory issues related to the defamation claim, including the form and capacity of imputations, the conduct of the trial, and the handling of costs and other procedural matters. The case involved numerous applications and rulings, including the form of the section 7A jury trial, applications to withdraw admissions, to discharge the jury, to disqualify the judge, to strike out defence particulars, and to amend defences.

The legal issues that the court had to decide involved the procedural aspects of the defamation trial, such as the form of the trial, the capacity of imputations, and the handling of costs. The court also had to consider applications to withdraw admissions, to discharge the jury, to disqualify the judge, and to strike out defence particulars. Additionally, the court had to determine the appropriate costs to be awarded to the plaintiff and the appropriate interest on those costs.

The court granted leave to the second defendant to amend his defence in accordance with the proposed Further Amended Defence. The court also awarded judgment for the plaintiff for a total of $240,000 against each of the second, fourth, and fifth defendants for each of the complained-of publications. The court directed the Registrar to forward a copy of the judgment to the Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration of the conduct of Mr Sung Joo Sung concerning the alteration and dishonest taking of the accounts book or books recording the Supporting Committee’s financial history. The court also directed that both parties were to serve outlines of interest calculations and any copies of offers relied upon by 4.00 p.m. 10 December 2009. These proceedings were stood over for further directions, or hearing, in relation to interest, costs, and any application for a stay, to the Defamation List on Friday 11 December 2009 at 9.00 a.m. The exhibits were retained for 28 days, save for Exhibit 27, which will remain in the custody of the Registrar of the District Court until further order.