Actress Eleanor Lee wins lawsuit against former assistant who doctored her audio recording

The Star

4 days ago

China-based Eleanor Lee has won a lawsuit against a former assistant who edited an audio recording which got the Singaporean actress into hot water with Chinese netizens.
The 25-year-old daughter of Taiwan-born Singapore host Quan Yifeng was in the news in May for allegedly making derogatory comments about the people of China, which she denied.
On May 21, a netizen claiming to be her former assistant posted an apology on Chinese social media platform Weibo and admitted to posting the edited recording.
On July 29, Lee's agency wrote on Weibo that it had received the Chinese court's Certificate of Judgment Enforcement, and attached the document.
'Eleanor Lee has always loved and respected Chinese culture and stood firm in her position,' the agency wrote. 'We firmly defend her legal rights and urge everyone to refrain from believing or spreading rumours, to jointly resist false information and build a clean cyberspace.'
The agency also shared a post from Yang Shuguang, a senior partner from Hai Run Law Firm, who shared a legal statement on the progress of the case.
The statement said the court had issued a ruling on June 23, with the ruling taking effect on July 17. It also noted that the false content posted online by the former assistant had damaged Lee's reputation, causing her mental distress and affecting her business activities.
'The court ordered the defendant to run a statement of apology to Eleanor Lee on the defendant's Weibo account for 60 consecutive days, and to pay damages to her for mental stress, legal costs and other financial losses,' said the statement.
It also said the legal firm has identified several social media accounts which maliciously fabricated and spread false information, and stated that it will continue to monitor these users.
'If the relevant network users still fail to promptly delete the infringing content they have posted after the release of this statement, or continue to commit the infringing acts, our lawyers will promptly collect additional evidence and file a lawsuit in court with the client's authorisation.'
The furore began when a netizen claiming to be Lee's former assistant released a poor-quality audio recording that lasted about 30 seconds on Weibo in April.
In the recording, which features much background noise and some muffled words, a woman is heard saying she is 'doing this not for fame, but for money' and that 'most people in China are idiots'.
The incident gained traction after the media in China and Taiwan reported on it in May.
Lee has not updated her social media accounts since posting a video clip on May 21, in which she gave her side of the story.
There is no word if her role in the upcoming Chinese period drama, The Journey Of Legend, will be affected by the saga.
Shi Hang Law Firm, which is representing the producers of the show, said in a statement posted on Weibo on July 29 that it is planning to take legal action against certain online users who have been spreading false information and continuously posting defamatory content about the series. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network