Local woman Ailian Su, who stood as an independent in the Howick Local Board Botany by-election at the beginning of the year, has been named in defamation proceedings.
The NZ Herald reported that Labour MP Raymond Huo claims he was the target of a nasty campaign leading up to the election that falsely accused him of having a criminal record and then asking police to wipe it.
Huo’s lawyer filed defamation documents in the Auckland High Court last week, the NZ Herald said, against People’s Party president Steven Ching and his wife Ailian Su, who he says spread false material damaging to Huo.
The lawyer said the papers would claim that Mr Ching and Ms Su republished material in the lead-up to the election on popular Chinese social media app WeChat.
However Ms Su, a Justice of the Peace who has lived in the Botany and Pakuranga area for more than 20 years, disputes any defamation.
“Steven Ching and I introduced Raymond Huo to join the Labour Party and to support him to be a Member of Parliament candidate,” she told the Times.
“There’s no reason to do such things against him. And I have no intention to defame him cause I only share the second article with the WTV WeChat group where the first article came from.”
Ms Su, a registered nurse, says she belongs to more than 10 WeChat groups.
