SINGAPORE – The Singapore High Court yesterday ordered two bloggers to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong a combined S$210,000 (RM648,570) in damages over an article about the home of his late father and the city state’s modern-day founder Lee Kuan Yew.
The leader sued writer Rubaashini Shunmuganathan and editor Xu Yuan Chen, also known as Terry Xu, over an August 2019 article on The Online Citizen (TOC) that includes references to a Lee family disagreement about what to do with the property.
Judge Audrey Lim said the article “impugned (Hsien Loong’s) reputation and character” by alleging he is dishonest.
“This struck at the heart of Hsien Loong’s personal integrity and could severely undermine his credibility, not just personally, but also as the prime minister, and calls into question his fitness to govern with integrity," said Lim in a written judgment.
Xu, a Singaporean, and Malaysian national Rubaashini were ordered to pay Hsien Loong S$210,000 and S$160,000, respectively.
The judge, however, asked them to jointly pay S$160,000 in damages, as the suits concern the same defamatory article.
Rubaashini did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Xu took to social media to say he is disappointed with the judgment, and is assessing the next steps he could take, such as an appeal.
Xu has also set up crowdfunding for the case, a move taken separately in April by an activist and a financial adviser, both of whom Hsien Loong successfully sued for defamation.
The prime minister appeared in court in the case involving TOC in May, during which he said “sensational allegations” were made.
His press secretary in a statement yesterday said the damages awarded will be donated to charity.
Senior figures in the ruling People’s Action Party, including Kuan Yew, have also sued foreign media and political opponents for defamation, calling it a defence of their reputations.
Some activists, including the New York-based Human Rights Watch, have said such moves stifle freedom of speech and political opposition. – Reuters, September 2, 2021
