Lee Hsien Yang, the brother of former Singapore prime minister, has been ordered by the High Court to pay S$200,000 (RM693,000) each to ministers K Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan for defaming them about their rental of state bungalows in Ridout Road.
The court also directed Lee to pay S$51,000 as costs to each minister.
Lee (above) is the younger brother of former prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, and son of the country’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.
Law and Home Affairs Minister Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Vivian had filed separate defamation suits against Lee in the High Court on Aug 2, 2023, but were later ordered to be tried together.
The defamation suit came after Lee on July 23, 2023, posted on his Facebook, alleging the ministers had acted corruptly by having the Singapore Land Authority give them preferential treatment.
Judge Goh Yihan in a written judgment released on Friday, said the claimants in this case are long-serving cabinet ministers and MPs, public leaders and persons of the highest integrity who undoubtedly have a high standing.
Goh said the defendant described himself as a public figure, is well-known in Singapore and active on social media.
Acted with malice
In making the judgment and awarding damages, Goh said he found the defendant’s defamatory allegations, which go towards the claimants' personal integrity, professional reputation, honour, and core attributes of their personalities, are of the “gravest kind”.
The offending words have been published and republished to a substantial extent within Singapore, he said.
He said it is also significant that the defendant did not apologise and or remove the Facebook post despite being given an opportunity to do so. Instead, the defendant accused the claimants of making false claims and of demanding a false apology.
The judge also found that the defendant acted with malice in posting the offending words.
“Based on the evidence before me, I find that the defendant knew that the offending words were false, that he published them recklessly, and or without considering or caring whether they are true or not.
“This therefore justifies the award of not only higher damages but also aggravated damages,” Goh added.
- Bernama
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