She stated that:
The article that she referred to was written by Jack Laurenson, a well respected former journalist covering Sihanoukville for the Khmer Times. I reached out to Jack to ask him why the article was taken down, and he responded to me as such:The reason this link is of concern to me is because the person mentioned in the forum is my uncle, Leander. This forum is surrounded by an article posted on khmertimeskh.com that was "reported" by a disgruntled ex employee. We have been working really hard to prove that my uncle was not at all what the link had accused him of. He was completely defamed and it has affect his life greatly to the point where he has had to move and shut down business's baesd on false accusation. The link has now been removed from khmertimeskh.com because of how false it was and now we are kindly requesting that all information be removed from the public viewing.
Upon further reflection, Jack asked if we would be willing to post the original article, which is now up on the site here: Exposed: Allegations of Cruelty and Criminality at K9 CambodiaIt's interesting to see that KT have decided to take down that article, although not entirely surprising considering the email bombardment campaign that I understand they have been subjected to and also what has become of that newspaper, which I understand has been hit by a number of scandals and undergone many changes in management since 2015.
To add some extra context and background to this email you have received, and to better assist you in making your own decision going forward, I can tell you about the contact that I have received from Mr. Clifton in recent months.
Firstly, his real name is Leo Clifton - I don't know where this new name Leander Mycroft (or whatever it is) has come from but he is using a new alias, presumably to find a new job, which has proved difficult for him as I understand. Secondly, he has, via a couple of intermediaries claiming to be lawyers or relatives (I strongly suspect they are actually him) messaged me and emailed me asking me to take down that article on grounds of defamation.
As you will know, defamation has to be proved by demonstration that the accusations are false or misleading. No evidence of this has been provided at all.
On the contrary, and as for the story itself, the suggestion that it's based only on the accusation of a single disgruntled former employee is very misleading. The allegations in that article are supported by about a dozen credible sources including former employees, business partners, customers, neighbors and, also, documentary evidence such as screenshots of chats and photos of dead and dying animals. It's a very robust piece of journalism and my only regret is that it's actually unfinished as I didn't have enough space for all the other allegations and accusations.
Furthermore, Clifton stonewalled all of my attempts to reach out to him and get his take on this. He ignored emails, his staff told me he was out of the country or didn't answer his phone. Only after going to print with "no comment" did he finally complain to the newspaper, bypassing my editor and going straight to the publisher, who subjected me to an editorial investigation involving many colleagues and editors.
They all found in my favor and commended the article for its fairness and accuracy and it remained on the website until this week. I can only imagine that these messages, emails and legal letters have finally taken a toll on whomever is reading them and they have, fearing the ramifications of his threats, decided to just take the piece down for a quiet life.
He also asked if he could post a follow up, in light of recent events. This is posted here: Will The Real Leo Clifton Please Stand Up.
I have been in contact with his "niece", who insists on his innocence. She has been polite in emails, but has already made a veiled threat of legal action even before any of today's posts, and I can only imagine what there is to come. As stated before, I should remind her that defamation has to be proved by demonstration that the accusations are false or misleading. There are a number of witnesses that have come forward, and indeed a new 2016 police investigation in the United Kingdom related to new criminal allegations of stalking and harassment against Leo Clifton (read about it in his response, linked to above].
Jack ends his response with poignant words:
I am grateful to Khmer440 for their offer to republish the original story that the Khmer Times unfortunately decided to take offline.
In a country like Cambodia, where it can often feel impossible to get real justice, it’s important for the unified voice of these alleged victims to be heard and for the community to make up their own mind about this individual.
It also increasingly seems that we find ourselves living in a time where lawyers, politicians and the public can scream “fake news!” at the top of their lungs whenever they read something they don’t like.
Honest and principled journalists, editors and publishers need to use their voice and take a stand against this. We can’t be bullied into not writing or publishing things that questionable people are uncomfortable reading.