Order Follows Judgment Against
Chinese Official for Libel Against Falun Gong
|
TORONTO (FDI)
– The Ontario Superior Court directed the Bank of China to seize applicable assets
from the Vice Consul General of China, Pan Xinchun’s bank account for refusing
to follow a court order to pay damages when he was found liable for defamation
last February (news)
in an unprecedented case.
On Feb 3rd, 2004, Justice Spiegel
of the Ontario Superior Court decided that Pan could not claim immunity and agreed
that he, “acted maliciously and outside of his consular functions,” when he defamed
local Falun Gong practitioner Joel Chipkar as being a member of a “sinister cult”
in the Toronto Star back on April 25th 2003. Pan was ordered to pay $10,000 for
Chipkar’s legal fees and $1,000 symbolic fee for damages.
The
Chinese government refused to accept the decision. Following the libel judgment,
the Peoples Republic of China revealed in writing their attempts to pressure and
threaten the Canadian government to influence the court system by stating, “This
is an extremely serious issue with potential substantial consequences for the
state relations between Canada and China.” They also state they made, “several
requests to the Department of Foreign Affairs to intervene in this proceeding”
and that, “Neither it, nor Mr. Pan, are subjected to the jurisdiction of the Canadian
courts and the PRC will not submit to the jurisdiction of the Canadian courts
for any reason.”
However, after Pan refused to pay the damages,
the Ontario Superior Court issued a Notice of Garnishment against him on July
14th 2004. On the same day, Chipkar’s law firm, Fasken Martineau, sent the notice
to Pan’s bank, the Chinese Government-owned Bank of China, to freeze his account.
David
Chan, the VP – Chief Accountant and Compliance Officer at the Toronto branch of
the Bank of China returned the Garnishee Statement on July 15 to Fasken Martineau
indicating there was no funds available for seizure.
Upon
further inquiry by Chipkar’s lawfirm, on July 20th Chan stated that the bank no
longer maintained the account. Due to current privacy laws, Mr. Chan said he was
unable to provide any further details regarding the account.
Chipkar
says: “This case is a matter of principle. Chinese officials here in Canada continue
to incite hatred against Falun Gong practitioners to the Canadian government,
media and the community. The PRC and its officials cannot violate Canadian laws
and hurt Canadians with impunity and without accountability. This is not China.”
After
deliberating with his legal counsel this week, Chipkar says he plans to subpoena
Pan to attend a judgment-debtor examination where Pan under oath, will be required
to answer questions related to any assets he may hold and his failure to comply
with the court order.
Joel Chipkar is available for comment
at (416) 709-8678.
Posting date: 30/Jul/2004
Original article
date: 29/Jul/2004
Category: World News
