by winston » Wed Mar 04, 2015 6:53 am
not vested
Shampoo firm `made to look greedy, inept'
A Next Magazine article allegedly depicted mainland company Bawang International as an irresponsible, incompetent and greedy herbal shampoo manufacturer that disregards users' safety, the Court of First Instance heard.
Barrister Jason Pow Wing-nin, for Bawang, continued his opening submissions in the libel case, responding to claims made by the article published on July 14, 2010 that reported the long-term use of his client's shampoo products would cause serious danger to health.
The article, Pow said, was structured in "successive information input," both in content and visuals, with varying typesets that attracted readers to certain words.
Reasonable readers would get the impression that regular and daily use of Bawang would cause cancer; and that the maker had knowingly used "cheap and inferior raw materials" containing the chemical 1,4-dioxane, even if it may be harmful to users' health, showing little regard to safety, Pow continued.
He said the article further alleged that Bawang had exploited loopholes.
"What impression does it give to the reader? Bawang, a good guy or a bad guy? It's as simple as that."
Pow said that while a person may be exposed to 1,4-dioxane by inhalation, ingestion or dermal contact, absorption through dermal root is very limited.
Although the substance has been scientifically proven to be carcinogenic to mice and rats, Pow said: "There is insufficient reliable, published, scientific, medical data or dermatological evidence to show it is carcinogenic to humans."
Asked by judge David Lok Kai-hong whether a degree of allowance should be given to the reporters, Pow replied: "At the time the reporter wrote the article she did not have the experts we had, and one cannot expect journalists to be gods."
Bawang International (Group) Holding and Bawang Guangzhou are suing Next Magazine for nearly HK$560 million. The trial continues.
Source: The Standard HK
It's all about "how much you made when you were right" & "how little you lost when you were wrong"