Fake rape claim emails

THE boss of a short-stay leasing company sent an email to multiple media outlets accusing a well-known Gold Coast solicitor of rape, a court was told.

Alexander James Gar Hung Sit sent the email on behalf of a friend from an anonymous account in July last year, claiming he thought the information was true.

The 34-year-old pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court on Friday to using a carriage service to menace and harass.

Commonwealth prosecutor Daniel Trigger said the victim – a well-known Gold Coast solicitor – was the aggrieved party of a temporary protection order taken out against a friend of Sit.

Mr Trigger said Sit used an anonymous email account to contact six media outlets, including the Gold Coast Bulletin, claiming the solicitor had been charged with offences.

“As a concerned citizen it has come to my attention under good authority and you being an upstanding journalist I wanted you to know (the solicitor) has been served with a

DVO and will appear before the court for the charge or sexual assault and rape,” the email said.

The solicitor, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has never been charged with an offence and is not the subject to any protection orders.

Mr Trigger told the court that police seized the woman’s phone and found What’s App messages between her and Sit, in which she asked him to contact media.

“(The woman) told Sit she could not inform the media of this because there was a current domestic violence order in place against her but her sisters, brothers, friends and acquaintances had made approaches to the media, ” he said.

Mr Trigger said Sit offered to contact the media for her.

“She stated to him ‘ speak of this to no one or I go to jail. Delete all this on What’s App now. They can’t trace deleted texts’.”

Mr Trigger said Sit told the woman he had called 10 journalists and sent the email using an offshore, encrypted account using a VPN with servers in Switzerland.

The court was told Sit told police he did not make the phone calls but did admit to sending emails.

Mr Trigger said Sit did not make any attempts to verify the information.

“The matters alleged are, in my submission, highly prejudicial, malicious and false and had the potential to cause emotional and reputational harm to the complainant,” he said.

The court was told Sit had been told the information by a friend and had felt “very sorry” for her. He only wished to make journalists aware of the allegations, the court was told.

The court was told Sit was suffering from adjustment disorder at the time.

Magistrate Jane Bentley placed Sit on a $1000 good behaviour bond for 12 months. No conviction was recorded.

“I am satisfied the offence was of a trivial nature,” she said. “Clearly, the information was never going to be published any further.

“It was not threatening, it was not menacing, it was not harassing, the prosecutor relies on the fact it was untrue and it was therefore offensive by standards of reasonable people.”

Ms Bentley accepted Sit had relied on information provided by the friend.