how should i advice?

Question

Ms. Tyra Fierce was appointed as auditor for Victoria Secret Sdn. Bhd. During the course of auditing, she discovered some discrepancies in the company’s account. Rumours were circulating for months that Yu Tsai, the accounts manager had misappropriated the company’s cash flows for his own personal use. Tyra decided to lodge a report on the discrepancies and the rumours about Yu Tsai. As her lawyer, Ms. Tyra Fierce seeks your advice as she fears that she will be sued for defamation if the reports about Yu Tsai turned out to be untrue.

You are required to refer to statutory provisions and relevant cases in providing your answer

Answer 1

First, as a general matter, truth is an absolute defense to a defamation claim, so that would be an initial line of legal protection. Second, I would advise Ms. Fierce to use several qualifiers in her report, such as "in my opinion," "it appears," etc. This will provide additional cover should the matter lead to litigation.

More broadly, however, I would ask Ms. Fierce for a copy of Yu Tsai's employment agreement. It's likely there is a clause protecting employees and the employer from legal action for employee performance reports made in the ordinary course of business. This is especially true if the information remains confidential and is shared with "need to know" employees.