The Taoyuan District Court has ordered eight people to pay NT$230,000 (US$7,442) in compensation to a woman surnamed Chou (周), who had filed a defamation lawsuit against 15 employees of the company where she formerly worked as a manager.
Chou said that in February last year she learned of a group on the Line messaging app formed by five workers in her department and three employees from another department that was used to share libelous statements about her.
She left the company in October last year because of the rumors, which had besmirched her reputation and caused her significant stress, resulting in her being diagnosed with anxiety disorder and depression, she said.
After gathering snippets of the group’s conversation from other sources, she filed the lawsuit against certain members of the group, asking for NT$1.15 million in compensation.
Chou’s former subordinates told investigators that she was known for being temperamental and that they had filed numerous complaints with the company’s human resources department over her outbursts, which they said bordered on bullying.
They said that they started the private chat group to vent their frustrations.
The judge acknowledged that Chou’s management skills should be open to public discussion, but said that much of the chat’s content was libelous and derogatory.
As the comments spread outside of the group to the rest of the company, the court ruled that Chou’s allegations were substantiated and ordered eight members of the chat group to each pay compensation of between NT$20,000 and NT$50,000.
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