Two Facebook administrators who have been threatened with legal action due to defamatory comments on their page have been given a final opportunity to issue a public apology.
This relates to a Facebook page called "Murder she wrote investigations and discussions" where the death of Heidi Scheepers and her two children was discussed at length.
Teresa Mathews and Chantall Strydom Dobson who are the administrators of the page have been given until 5 pm on Monday to publish an apology on their page or legal action will continue.
A third administrator, Diane van Rensburg has since been added to the list.
Ettienne Scheepers who is the husband of Heidi Scheepers, claims through his attorneys, A Chimes van Wyk, that the comments and discussions on the page were nothing more than a platform where he is being grossly defamed and which has caused and continues to cause him grave reputational harm as well as to his business interests.
Some of the discussions on the Facebook page accused Scheepers of killing his wife, plotting her murder, having an affair and driving his wife to suicide.
Heidi and her two children were killed in October when their VW Caravelle was found partially submerged in the ocean at the bottom of a 100-meter high cliff at Voëlklip.
The bodies of Hugo and Heidi were found soon after the wreckage was spotted and an autopsy revealed that both had died as a result of drowning.
The body of their six-year-old daughter was never found and the search has since been called off.
Ettienne Scheepers is now seeking financial compensation by way of damages for defamation.
A letter was issued to the administrators last week where they were given a clear deadline to delete comments or face legal action.
A Consultant Attorney at Chimes van Wyk Donal Curtis says they noted that comments about Ettienne Scheepers and his family were subsequently deleted, however, they have raised concerns of further defamatory comments concerning their client which was posted and allowed on the page after the cut off time.
He says they have now finalised their summons to be issued to the High Court to commence formal litigation to seek compensation for the harm caused to their client.
Curtis says any amount awarded in his favour will be donated to the "Up with Downs Special Needs School" in George.
" Our client is not vindictive, nor will he readily embark upon years of costly and stressful litigation. He will proceed if necessary" he said.
The admins have now been asked to issue the following apology on their page:
To Mr Scheepers and his family and friends, We, the administrators of this Page, hereby apologise to you unreservedly for the harm caused to your good name and reputation, and the anxiety and stress, caused by allowing defamatory posts and comments on posts to be published on the Page.
There is no objective evidence whatsoever, from any relevant authority, indicating that this event was anything more than a terrible tragedy for you and your family.
We admit that when a person’s mere opinion, unfounded speculation or simple "gossip" goes beyond free speech and infringes another person’s dignity and reputation, both they and the Facebook Page Administrators who allow them to do so face substantial legal liability.
We will guide our future moderations of the Page accordingly.
The admins have also been ordered to disable comments on the apology post.
