Chinese-Australian billionaire Chau Chak Wing was awarded 280,000 Australian dollars (USD 200,000) in damages on Friday by an Australian judge who ruled he was defamed by a media report that insinuated he bribed a former United Nations general assembly president.
The businessman, philanthropist and generous political donor sued Fairfax Media and journalist John Garnaut over an online story published in October 2015 under the headline: "Are Chau Chak Wing's circles of influence in Australia-China ties built on hot air?"
In Beijing, a foreign ministry spokesman said at the time the accusation was "purely fabricated out of thin air and not worth refuting."
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