On July 26, Nha Be District People's Court continued the first-instance trial of the dispute over compensation for damages caused by infringement of honor, dignity, and reputation between the plaintiff, Vietnam Waste Treatment Company Limited (abbreviated VWS; with Mr. David Duong as legal representative) and the defendant, Ms. Nguyen Hong Thu (residing in Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City).
At this hearing, the defendant's representative filed a request for absence. The hearing began with the defense arguments of the lawyer protecting the defendant's legal rights and interests.
The lawyer said that the Da Phuoc landfill's emission of foul odors does not need to be proven because it has been concluded and punished by competent State agencies and the people, and the press has also reported it over the years.
Remedial measures have been taken but the odor situation has not been completely resolved.
The lawyer said that Ms. Thu's postings on the Facebook group "The Truth About the Foul Smell in Phu My Hung" stemmed from her long-standing frustration over fear of affecting her personal and family health. These frustrations are not only Ms. Thu's but also those of many people living here.
The lawyer admitted that some of the articles that his client had posted used words that affected Mr. David Duong personally but did not affect VWS, although there were 2 articles mentioning VWS. In addition, the Binh Chanh District Police (HCMC) had worked and concluded that Ms. Thu's actions had not caused any damage to VWS.
The defendant's lawyer said that his client's posting of "defamatory" articles did not affect VWS. If the plaintiff believed that there were offensive words about Mr. David Duong, he should file a lawsuit.
At the first instance trial, Mr. David Duong filed a petition refusing to participate in the proceedings, not requesting to resolve his personal interests but requesting to resolve to protect the legitimate rights and obligations of VWS.
Therefore, the lawyer stated that it was not enough to conclude that Ms. Hong Thu had violated the company's honor. Regarding the request for compensation for the cost of making the minutes, the minutes VWS had made were unnecessary, so the compensation was not agreed.
The plaintiff's defense attorney argued that Ms. Hong Thu's posts on the Facebook group "The Truth About the Foul Smell in Phu My Hung" defaming Mr. David Duong had been acknowledged by the defendant. While Mr. David Duong is the legal representative of VWS, therefore defaming Mr. David Duong is also understood as defaming VWS.
After listening to the arguments of the parties, the representative of the People's Procuracy of Nha Be district stated his opinion accepting all the plaintiff's lawsuit requests. Specifically, forcing Ms. Nguyen Hong Thu to immediately stop her actions that insult the honor, dignity and reputation of Mr. Duong David and VWS.
Ms. Hong Thu must remove the content on her personal Facebook page "HongThuNguyen" related to VWS and Mr. Duong David; publicly apologize and correct the information on the Facebook page "Hong ThuNguyen", the group "The truth about the stench in Phu My Hung"; compensate 35.9 million VND for the cost of VWS creating 2 documents related to the case.
After deliberation, the panel of judges found that some issues had not been clarified, so they returned to the questioning procedure. The trial is continuing.
According to the lawsuit, VWS was established on December 28, 2005 with Mr. Duong David Trung (also known as David Duong) as the legal representative. VWS is responsible for the design, construction and operation of the Da Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex (Da Phuoc Commune, Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City).
In 2016, Ms. Nguyen Hong Thu used her personal Facebook account named "HongThuNguyen" to create a Facebook group called "The truth about the stench in Phu My Hung" on Facebook to post content claiming that the stench in Phu My Hung area was caused by VWS.
VWS stated in the petition that the content of the posts was distorted and untrue about Mr. Duong David as well as VWS.
Not only that, the articles and information posted by Ms. Hong Thu used words that defamed the dignity, honor and reputation of Mr. Duong David and VWS.
"These unverified posted information have been causing confusion in public opinion, causing individuals, organizations, and other agencies to have an incorrect view of VWS. A large number of other personal accounts and Facebook pages, due to not knowing the exact source of information, have shared and made negative comments. This incident has seriously affected the honor, reputation, and reputation of Mr. Duong David and VWS" - the lawsuit stated.
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