Corby family gets almost $1 million in defamation payout over Duff book

There’s been loads of theories and speculation about the Corby family ever since Schapelle Corby’s Bali arrest in 2004 over 4.2 kilograms of cannabis in her boogie board bag, but putting allegations in a book without thoroughly backing them up clearly does not fly with the Australian government. 

The Corby family will collect nearly AUD1 million in damages from a defamation case over Eamonn Duff’s book, ‘Sins of the Father’. 

In his book, Duff apparently alleged that Schapelle’s father, Mick Corby, was heading a drug syndicate that included his daughter Mercedes Corby, son Michael Corby, and wife Rosleigh Rose. 

In separate cases, Mercedes was awarded AUD175,000, Michael AUD150,000, and Rosleigh AUD190,000, writes Paddy Naughtin in a report published by the Herald Sun. Sometimes it pays to have people say lousy things about you. 

In legal costs alone, the book’s publisher, Allen & Unwin, reportedly paid almost AUD400,000. 

Schapelle Corby was convicted in May 2005 for drug smuggling and was sentenced to 20 years, but got out on parole in Feb. 2014, permitted that she remains in Bali.

Photo of Mercedes Corby: Getty/AFP



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