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Melbourne developer Barry Wang quizzed in court by ex-lover Jessie Qin over ‘broken promises’

Caroline SchelleNCA NewsWire
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Camera IconNot Supplied Credit: Supplied

Broken promises over trips to hot springs and whether a property developer ever loved his alleged “sugar baby” have been key questions raised in a defamation trial.

Property developer Barry Wang has taken Jessie Qin to court over allegations she defamed him in a series of WeChat posts calling him a “scum man” and a “rampant sex scammer” in April last year.

He wants the real estate agent to pay $350,000, make a public apology and retract the claims aired on the Chinese language app.

A photo Jessie Qin tendered to the court of her and Barry Wang. Supplied
Camera IconA photo Jessie Qin tendered to the court of her and Barry Wang. Supplied Credit: Supplied

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Ms Qin, who is representing herself, questioned her ex-lover during the civil trial in the County Court of Victoria on Thursday.

A series of texts translated in court showed Mr Wang suggesting the couple play golf, go to hot springs and have dinner with his friends.

“Why are you promising me things but you never live up to promise?” Ms Qin asked her former lover through a translator.

“I answer your question … there could be many reasons why,” he said through his interpreter.

Some of those were work related and family reasons, he told the court.

He agreed he mentioned trips to the hot springs and to play golf but they “did not eventuate”.

Barry Wang is suing former lover Jessie Qin over a series of allegedly defamatory WeChat posts.
Camera IconBarry Wang is suing former lover Jessie Qin over a series of allegedly defamatory WeChat posts. Credit: Supplied

In other texts translated from Chinese, Ms Qin questioned whether her ex ever had feelings for her during their relationship in 2019.

“It hadn’t been long since we met each other. It was probably more ‘like’ than ‘love’, maybe more or less a little bit of love, but it’s very hard (to) use words to express the exact extent,” Mr Wang said.

He repeatedly said during the cross-examination that he liked Ms Qin before she raised questions about a visa.

In court documents, the pair are said to have met on a site called “Seeking Arrangement”, described as an online platform where “so-called sugar babies can meet so-called sugar daddies to make so-called arrangements”.

The reply document filed to the court said on the site he had a “sugar daddy” profile and she had a “sugar baby” profile, and Mr Wang messaged her on the site.

Her former lover alleged in court documents the WeChat posts falsely portrayed him as a scammer, manipulative and as someone who engaged in “mind games” with women.

Mr Wang claims Ms Qin published articles in Chinese on a WeChat group called “Australian Village Gossiper” and falsely called him a “rampant sex scammer” and a “scum man” in the lengthy publications.

The trial continues.

Originally published as Melbourne developer Barry Wang quizzed in court by ex-lover Jessie Qin over ‘broken promises’

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