Update 1 Sep 2021: High Court awards PM Lee $210,000 in damages in defamation suits against TOC editor Terry Xu and article author
Justice Lim ordered Mr Terry Xu to pay $210,000, comprising $160,000 in general damages and $50,000 in aggravated damages. PHOTO: ST FILE
The High Court has awarded Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong a total of $210,000 in damages for two defamation suits he filed over an article published on The Online Citizen (TOC) website.
He had separately sued TOC chief editor Terry Xu and Ms Rubaashini Shunmuganathan, the Malaysian author of the article that was published on Aug 15, 2019.
The article, titled "PM Lee's wife Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members", had quoted a Facebook post by PM Lee's sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, saying their father, founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, had been misled by PM Lee into believing the family house at 38 Oxley Road had been gazetted by the Government.
PM Lee Hsien Loong awarded $370,000 in damages against TOC editor Terry Xu and writer
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was awarded a total of $370,000 in damages in his defamation suit against The Online Citizen (TOC) editor Terry Xu Yuanchen and his writer, Rubaashini Shunmuganathan.
In a judgment issued on Wednesday (1 September), Justice Audrey Lim also issued an injunction restraining Xu from further publishing or disseminating the false and defamatory allegations in TOC's 2019 article about 38 Oxley Road. The article was still accessible as of 2.30pm on Wednesday.
The article published on TOC’s website and Facebook page on 15 August 2019 was titled “PM Lee’s wife, Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members”. It was written by Rubaashini, whom Lee also sought aggravated damages against in a separate suit. He was awarded $160,000 for this suit against Ruubashini and Xu, who were found jointly liable. For the suit that was solely against Xu, Lee was awarded $210,000, comprising $160,000 in general damages and $50,000 in aggravated damages.
Update 1 Sep 2021: Singapore PM wins $275,000 in latest defamation suits
PM Lee Hsien Loong awarded $210,000 in damages against TOC editor Terry Xu and writer
Singapore's high court ordered two news bloggers to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong a combined S$370,000 ($275,113) in damages on Wednesday, over an article about the status of the home of his late father and the city-state's modern-day founder, Lee Kuan Yew. The premier filed lawsuits against writer Rubaashini Shunmuganathan and editor Xu Yuan Chen, also known as Terry Xu, over the August 2019 article published on The Online Citizen that included references to a disagreement within the Lee family about what to do with the property.
High court judge Audrey Lim said the article "impugned Lee's reputation and character" by alleging he was dishonest. "This struck at the heart of Lee's personal integrity and could severely undermine his credibility, not just personally but also as the prime minister, and call into question his fitness to govern with integrity," Lim said in a written judgement. Xu, a Singaporean, was ordered to pay Lee S$210,000, while in a separate suit over the same article, Malaysian Rubaashini was ordered to pay S$160,000. Neither immediately responded to requests for comment.
Lee appeared in court here in the case in May, during which he said "sensational allegations" had been made. Lee's press secretary in a statement on Wednesday said the damages awarded would be donated to charity. Senior figures in the ruling People's Action Party, including Lee Kuan Yew, have also sued foreign media and political opponents for defamation, calling it defence of their reputations. In April, an activist here and a financial advisor here separately turned to crowdfunding in Singapore to raise tens of thousands of dollars to pay Lee damages after the premier sued both for defamation. Some activists, including the New York-based Human Rights Watch, say such moves are stifling freedom of speech and political opposition. ($1 = 1.3449 Singapore dollars).
PM Lee Hsien Loong awarded $210,000 in damages against TOC editor Terry Xu and writer
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was awarded a total of $210,000 in damages in his defamation suit against The Online Citizen (TOC) editor Terry Xu Yuanchen and his writer, Rubaashini Shunmuganathan. In a judgment issued on Wednesday (1 September), Justice Audrey Lim also issued an injunction restraining Xu from further publishing or disseminating the false and defamatory allegations in TOC's 2019 article about 38 Oxley Road. The article was still accessible as of 2.30pm on Wednesday.
Following the judgment, Lee's press secretary said that he intends to donate to charity the damages he has been awarded. Xu's lawyer Lim Tean said in a Facebook post, "We are very disappointed with the judgment and I am discussing with Terry on the next course of action. "It is evident to me from a quick read of the 60-page judgment that the judge did not consider or understand the import of many relevant pieces of evidence which we put forward in the trial, which would have proven Terry’s defence," he added. Xu will crowd-fund to pay for the damages.
The article published on TOC’s website and Facebook page on 15 August 2019 was titled “PM Lee’s wife, Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members”. It was written by Rubaashini, whom Lee also sought aggravated damages against in a separate suit. He was awarded $160,000 for this suit against Ruubashini and Xu, who were found jointly liable. For the suit that was solely against Xu, Lee was awarded $210,000, comprising $160,000 in general damages and $50,000 in aggravated damages.
PM Lee wins defamation suits, awarded S$210,000 in damages against TOC editor Terry Xu and writer
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (left) and chief editor of The Online Citizen Terry Xu arrive at the Supreme Court on Nov 30, 2020 for the defamation trial. (Photos: Nuria Ling/TODAY)
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was awarded S$210,000 by the High Court on Wednesday (Sep 1) in two separate defamation lawsuits against Terry Xu, the editor of socio-political website The Online Citizen (TOC), and Rubaashini Shunmuganathan, the writer of a TOC article.
In August 2019, TOC published an article written by Ms Rubaashini about Mr Lee's dispute with his siblings, Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang, over their family home at 38 Oxley Road. The article was found by Justice Audrey Lim to be defamatory, stating that the libel against Mr Lee was "grave and serious". "The defamatory remarks do not merely attack his personal integrity, character and reputation, but that of the PM, and damage his moral authority to lead Singapore," said Justice Lim in a 60-page judgment.
Justice Lim also granted an injunction that Mr Lee had sought, restraining Xu from further publishing or disseminating the defamatory allegations in the article. “As usual, PM Lee intends to donate to charity the damages he has been awarded," Mr Lee's press secretary Chang Li Lin said on Wednesday. In the first lawsuit against Mr Xu, Mr Lee was awarded S$160,000 in general damages and S$50,000 in aggravated damages, for a total of S$210,000.
Blogger Leong Sze Hian ordered to pay PM Lee $133,000 for defamation over sharing of article
PM Lee's lawyers had argued for $150,000 in damages in the defamation suit against blogger Leong Sze Hian. PHOTOS: ST FILE
The High Court has ordered blogger and financial adviser Leong Sze Hian to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong $133,000 for defamation. The sum includes $100,000 in general damages and $33,000 in aggravated damages.
Mr Leong was sued for sharing, on his Facebook page, an article from the Malaysian news site The Coverage that falsely linked PM Lee to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption scandal in Malaysia. Justice Aedit Abdullah said in a written judgment on Wednesday (March 24) that Mr Leong did so "without making any enquiries as to its truth whatsoever" and displayed "reckless disregard of whether the article was true or not".
The judge ruled that Mr Leong's sharing of the article amounted to publishing it, even though he did not add any captions or commentary. Mr Leong had contended that he was not responsible for publishing the article, as there was no evidence anyone clicked on it as a result of him sharing it. Justice Aedit noted that the link to the article, along with its headline and a photo, was the only substantive content of Mr Leong's Facebook post, and it would be artificial to draw a "bright-line distinction" between the article and the post.
PM Lee awarded $87,000 in legal costs for defamation suits against TOC editor, writer
The costs order came after PM Lee Hsien Loong (left) won his suits against Mr Terry Xu (right), the chief editor of The Online Citizen, and article author Rubaashini Shunmuganathan. PHOTOS: ST FILE
The High Court on Wednesday (Oct 13) awarded Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong more than $87,000 in legal costs for the defamation suits he filed over an article published on The Online Citizen (TOC).
The costs order came after PM Lee won his suits against Mr Terry Xu, the chief editor of the socio-political website, and Ms Rubaashini Shunmuganathan, the Malaysian author of the article that was published on Aug 15, 2019. High Court judge Audrey Lim last month awarded PM Lee $210,000 in damages. She found that the article was defamatory, as it imputed that PM Lee had been dishonest with his father, founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.
The article, titled "PM Lee's wife Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members", had quoted a Facebook post by PM Lee's sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling. Dr Lee's post asserted that Mr Lee Kuan Yew had been misled by PM Lee into believing the family house at 38 Oxley Road had been gazetted by the Government, causing him to change his will to bestow the house to PM Lee. Mr Xu had sought to justify the allegations in the article, arguing that they were true.
related: High Court awards PM Lee $210,000 in damages in defamation suits against TOC editor Terry Xu and article author
PM Lee awarded nearly S$88,000 in costs after winning defamation suits against The Online Citizen chief editor, writer
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (left) and Mr Terry Xu (right), chief editor of The Online Citizen
Justice Audrey Lim held a hearing in chambers on costs in both suits after her ruling on Sept 1 in which she awarded S$210,000 in total damages to Mr Lee, who had sued Mr Xu and the article’s writer, Ms Rubaashini Shunmuganathan.
Mr Xu’s lawyer, Mr Lim Tean, put up a Facebook post after the hearing, detailing the court’s decision and appealing to members of the public to donate to Mr Xu’s crowdfunding campaign. The campaign has since reportedly raised more than S$210,000. TODAY has separately confirmed the court’s ruling on costs and disbursements.
PM Lee awarded S$210,000 in damages after winning defamation suits against The Online Citizen editor and writer
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (left) and Mr Terry Xu, chief editor of The Online Citizen, arriving at the Supreme Court on Nov 30, 2021
The High Court on Wednesday (Sept 1) awarded Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong a total of S$210,000 in damages, after he won two defamation lawsuits against the chief editor and a writer from sociopolitical site The Online Citizen (TOC).
The lawsuits stemmed from an article published in TOC in August 2019 about Mr Lee’s family home at 38 Oxley Road. In a 60-page judgement, Justice Audrey Lim found that the article was defamatory.
The judge also agreed that TOC’s editor Terry Xu had acted maliciously and recklessly in publishing the article, and so aggravated damages were warranted.
Singapore PM wins more defamation suits against bloggers
Singapore's high court ordered two bloggers to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong a combined S$210,000 ($155,994) in damages on Wednesday, over an article about the home of his late father and the city-state's modern-day founder, Lee Kuan Yew.
The premier 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 included references to a Lee family disagreement about what to do with the property. Judge Audrey Lim said the article "impugned Lee's reputation and character" by alleging he was dishonest.
"This struck at the heart of Lee's personal integrity and could severely undermine his credibility, not just personally but also as the prime minister, and call into question his fitness to govern with integrity," Lim said in a written judgement.
Singapore PM Gets $156,000 in Blogger Defamation Suit
A Singapore court awarded Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong S$210,000 ($156,000) in combined damages in two defamation suits he brought against blogger Terry Xu and a second writer over an article published two years ago.
The High Court said in its judgment on Wednesday that Xu, the chief editor of The Online Citizen news blog “acted recklessly, with indifference to the truth and with ill-will” in publishing a story that caused adverse reactions on social media and “serious harm” to Lee’s reputation.
“The libel against Lee Hsien Loong is grave and serious,” the court judgment read. “The defamatory remarks do not merely attack his personal integrity, character and reputation, but that of the PM, and damage his moral authority to lead Singapore.”
PM Lee defamation suit: TOC writer fails to turn up in court
The Online Citizen writer being sued by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for defamation did not show up in court on May 31. The hearing was to assess damages Rubaashini Shunmuganathan would have to pay Mr Lee. The Prime Minister is seeking aggravated damages for an article the writer penned. It contained allegations about Mr Lee's conduct in the Oxley Road house dispute.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong appeared in court on Monday in his defamation suit against a Malaysian writer, over an article he has said contained false statements about the home of his late father, the city-state's first premier.
Lee filed a lawsuit against Rubaashini Shunmuganathan for her story on a Singapore news site in August 2019, which included references to a disagreement within the Lee family about what to do with the home of his father Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's modern-day founder.
The prime minister appeared briefly in court via video conference to reaffirm his affidavits, in which he said he was seeking damages from Shunmuganathan including aggravated damages. He said he had obtained "judgment in default of appearance" by Shunmuganathan on Dec. 31. Shunmuganathan was not present in court and Reuters was unable to reach her.
PM Lee's Defamation suit against blogger Leong
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong arrives at the Supreme Court on Oct 6, 2020
Hearings have begun in Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s defamation suit against a blogger who shared an article about him on Facebook. Lee sued Leong Sze Hian for posting a link to a Malaysian news site that alleged the prime minister had helped launder 1Malaysia Development Bhd. funds. The Singaporean leader, who has sued other people for defamation while in office, arrived in court on Tuesday to give evidence and undergo cross-examination. Lee’s lawyers have said the accusations are false and baseless.
The offending words in the post “meant and were understood to mean that the plaintiff was complicit in criminal activity relating to 1MDB,” according to Lee’s opening statement to the court. They “meant and were understood to mean that the plaintiff corruptly used his position as prime minister to help Mr Najib launder 1MDB’s billions,” the statement said, referring to former Malaysian premier Najib Razak.
Taking the stand in court, Lee said when an accusation is made against him as the prime minster, “the government has to take it very seriously. I have to take it very seriously.” He added: “I have to protect my own reputation and standing.” Lee is seeking aggravated damages and an injunction that Leong be prevented from publishing or disseminating the allegations, or other allegations of complicity relating to the embattled Malaysian state fund, according to the Straits Times.
Non-prosecution of Lee siblings makes TOC defamation case unconstitutional: lawyer
A lawyer for a man accused of defaming members of Cabinet is making a second application for the matter to be referred to the High Court on the grounds of the charge being unconstitutional.
This time, lawyer M. Ravi argues that the prosecution of his client Daniel Augustin De Costa, 36, along with the editor of socio-political website The Online Citizen (TOC), Terry Xu Yuanchen, 37, infringes on their right to equality before the law. Article 12 of the Constitution guarantees that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.
At the time of De Costa and Xu’s alleged offences, other publications, such as a joint statement made by Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang, “made similar or worse imputations that were directed squarely at the Prime Minister, a member of the Cabinet”, said Ravi, who was referring to the younger sister and younger brother respectively of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
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Lawyer M. Ravi files constitutional challenge over TOC criminal defamation case
Lawyer M. Ravi has filed a court challenge over a criminal defamation case involving Daniel De Costa, arguing that the charge faced by his client contravenes his constitutional right to equality before the law.
De Costa was charged in court last year over an article published on socio-political website The Online Citizen (TOC).
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Lee siblings inform TOC editor Terry Xu that Third Party Notice not served properly
Previously on Sep. 26, Xu applied for Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling to be brought in as third parties in the lawsuit involving their elder sibling
On Oct. 8, Xu shared in a Facebook page that the Third Party Notice he delivered to the two younger Lee siblings was not properly served under the Rules of Court.
Xu said he emailed Lee Hsien Yang, and hand-delivered a copy of the notice and relevant documents to Lee Wei Ling’s house.
According to Xu, he was informed by the Lees themselves that it was not done in the right manner. Xu said he will send the notice again.
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TOC editor Terry Xu applies to bring in PM Lee Hsien Loong's siblings in lawsuit
Mr Terry Xu, who filed his application in the High Court on Sept 26, said he wanted Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling to bear the damages if he is found to have defamed PM Lee in an Aug 15 article published by The Online Citizen.PHOTO: ST FILE
The chief editor of The Online Citizen (TOC) has applied to bring in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's siblings as third parties in the defamation suit that PM Lee filed against him last month.
Mr Terry Xu, who filed his application in the High Court last Thursday (Sept 26), said he wanted Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling to bear the damages if he is found to have defamed PM Lee in an Aug 15 article published by TOC.
He explained in a separate document filed last Friday that the article, "PM Lee's wife, Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members", was meant to be ironic and meant no malice.
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TOC editor-in-chief files defence against PM Lee’s defamation suit
The Online Citizen‘s editor-in-chief Terry Xu has filed his defence against Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s defamation suit on Fri afternoon (27 Sep)
Following Mr Xu’s refusal to take down an article published on TOC titled “PM Lee’s wife, Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members” and issue an apology for the post as set out in the letter of demand from the Prime Minister’s Office on 1 Sept, a writ of summons was served by PM Lee to Mr Xu on 5 Sep.
The writ of summons was sent with a statement of claim by Davinder Singh Chambers LLC on behalf of PM Lee, which alleged that the article contained statements that are false and baseless, and that it was intended disparage and impugn PM Lee as well as his office as the Prime Minister.
Mr Xu in his initial response to the demands by Mr Lee, maintained that “the contents of the article constitute fair comment”, as TOC was “merely republishing the words uttered by” PM Lee’s siblings Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling.
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Lee Wei Ling speaks out again on 38 Oxley Road: “One has to be remarkably dumb or ill-informed to not know what LKY wanted to happen to his marital home”
“My father made it well known in his lifetime that he would like 38 Oxley Road demolished when I no longer need it. Papa doesn’t mince words, yet a special committee of the Cabinet was formed to divine what Papa really wants!!”
Around the same time as the release of a statement from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s press secretary detailing that PM Lee will testify in court if his defamation suit against the chief editor of The Online Citizen (TOC) goes to trial, his sister Dr Lee Wei Ling reiterates her stance on 38 Oxley Road, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s home.
In a lengthy Facebook post on Tuesday (September 10) evening, Dr Lee repeated what she knew of her father’s stance on his marital home: “My father made it well known in his lifetime that he would like 38 Oxley Road demolished when I no longer need it. Papa doesn’t mince words, yet a special committee of the Cabinet was formed to divine what Papa really wants!!”
She outlined the reasons why her father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew wanted his house demolished; he did not want it open to public or turned into a shrine, Mdm Kwa Geok Choo was a private person and did not want the public trampling through her home. In her Facebook post, Dr Lee remarked that “the PAP is trying to build a LKY personality cult.I hope this will fade away. Not because I am an unfilial daughter but because I want Singapore to continue to prosper and survive beyond LKY. So Oxley should be demolished after I am gone”.
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Dr Lee Wei Ling 19 hr
Lee Hsien Yang 19 hr
In a special session of Parliament on 13 April 2015, my older brother Hsien Loong said:
"Mr Lee’s position on 38 Oxley Road was unwavering over the years, and fully consistent with his lifelong values. We should respect his wishes, as well as those of Mrs Lee."
Since then, Loong has sought to rewrite history about Papa’s stance on demolitiion to claim, unbelievably, that Lee Kuan Yew wavered in his unwavering wish. He now says:
"However, after hearing Cabinet's unanimous views that the property should not be demolished, Mr Lee eventually came to accept that the Government was likely to preserve the property in the public interest. He was consequently prepared to be flexible and contemplate options short of demolition."
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Dr Lee Weiling makes new Facebook post, Lee Hsien Yang shares it in support
In a Facebook posting today (10 Sep), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling reiterated that founding PM Lee Kuan Yew had always wanted his house at 38 Oxley Road to be demolished.
She reminded everyone that at a special session of Parliament on 13 April 2015, PM Lee said, “Mr Lee’s position on 38 Oxley Road was unwavering over the years, and fully consistent with his lifelong values. We should respect his wishes, as well as those of Mrs Lee.”
However, since then, she said that PM Lee has sought to “rewrite history” about their father’s stance on demolition “to claim, unbelievably, that Lee Kuan Yew wavered in his unwavering wish”.
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Netizens point out the irony of PM Lee telling world leaders to ‘resolve differences calmly and peacefully’
We should try our best to resolve our differences calmly and peacefully, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the United Nations (UN) event on Tuesday (24 September). The event, Leadership Matters – Relevance of Mahatma Gandhi in the Contemporary World, was hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Gandhi’s birth.
In his speech, PM Lee said that mutual understanding, tolerance and respect can be built only when people start to appreciate the views of others, especially in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world. He said, “Differences are more easily amplified, and people more readily take offence. Tensions and conflicts are prevalent not just between countries, races and religions, but also within them.”
The premier called on other countries to contribute to global efforts, as Singapore has, in promoting respect and mutual understanding.
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‘I want to ask the Prime Minister straight in his face why he is suing me instead of his siblings’ – Terry Xu
Mr Xu added that he was determined to stand his ground against such uncalled-for intimidation, especially when it is from a public servant
The Online Citizen (TOC) editor Terry Xu has revealed that he intends to directly question Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on why he is suing him, instead of his own siblings, over comments made in the explosive Lee family feud in 2017.
On 1 Sept, PM Lee asked Mr Xu to remove an article and Facebook post published by TOC repeating allegations of abuse of power that his sister Lee Wei Ling made in 2017.
The PM asked TOC to publish a “full and unconditional apology,” along with an undertaking that it would not publish similar allegations in the future, and warned that he will “have no choice but to hand the matter over to his lawyers to sue to enforce his full rights in law” if TOC does not comply.
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PM Lee’s siblings can decide if they want to testify in court with Terry Xu should the defamation suit goes to trial
According to reports, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s press secretary, Ms Chang Li Lin said in a statement that he will testify in Court if the defamation suit he is filing against TOC’s editor Terry Xu goes to trial.
In a brief statement to the media, Ms Chang said that the suit was filed “because the allegations are completely false”, referring to the article that was published on TOC on 15 August which repeated allegations made by PM Lee’s siblings, Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling, about the 38 Oxley Road dispute.
Ms Chang added, “His [PM Lee’s] siblings can decide, together with Mr Xu, whether they too will testify, and repeat the allegations in court. The court can then establish the facts.”
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PM Lee may testify in court against TOC editor Xu; his siblings can also decide to take the stand
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will testify in court if his defamation suit against Terry Xu, chief editor of sociopolitical website The Online Citizen (TOC), goes to trial.
In addition, his two estranged siblings – Wei Ling and Hsien Yang – can decide whether they will testify together with Xu, and repeat the allegations in court concerning their disagreements about the family home at 38 Oxley Road and the final will drawn up by their late father, Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.
PM Lee’s press secretary Chang Li Lin released a media statement on Tuesday night (10 September) outlining his intentions. The statement said, “The Prime Minister has filed a suit against Mr Terry Xu of The Online Citizen (TOC) for defamation. He has done so because the allegations are completely false.
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PM Lee will testify if lawsuit against TOC editor goes to trial
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is suing Mr Terry Xu, the chief editor of The Online Citizen (TOC), for defamation over an Aug 15 article published by TOC and a Facebook post.PHOTO: ST FILE
Lee Hsien Loong will testify in court if his defa-mation suit against the chief editor of The Online Citizen (TOC) goes to trial.
PM Lee's press secretary Chang Li Lin said this in a statement last night in response to media queries.
The Prime Minister had filed the suit against Mr Terry Xu because the allegations in an Aug 15 article published by TOC are "completely false", she noted.
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Singapore prime minister sues independent news website for defamation
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is suing Terry Xu, chief editor of independent news website The Online Citizen (TOC), for defamation in relation to a news article published by the latter which tackled the leader’s public feud with his siblings
Critics said this is another example of the government’s harsh treatment of independent media and other groups which report about dissenting views against the country’s authorities. In Singapore, defamation is an offence that carries a maximum penalty of a two-year prison sentence and a fine.
On 15 August 2019, TOC published an article titled “PM Lee’s wife, Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members”, which was also posted on Facebook. It notes the irony of Ho sharing an article about toxic family members:
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PM Lee sues TOC’s Terry Xu over alleged defamatory article
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is suing Terry Xu, Chief Editor of The Online Citizen (TOC), over an alleged defamatory article published last month.
The legal action comes a day after Xu said in a reply to PM Lee that he won’t comply with his demands to immediately remove the article and publicly apologise to him by Wednesday.
TOC said in a post on its Facebook page that a Writ of Summons along with a Statement of Claim has been served by Davinder Singh Chambers on behalf of PM Lee to Xu, on Thursday (5 September), 3.51pm at his house.
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related:
A lawyer for a man accused of defaming members of Cabinet is making a second application for the matter to be referred to the High Court on the grounds of the charge being unconstitutional.
This time, lawyer M. Ravi argues that the prosecution of his client Daniel Augustin De Costa, 36, along with the editor of socio-political website The Online Citizen (TOC), Terry Xu Yuanchen, 37, infringes on their right to equality before the law. Article 12 of the Constitution guarantees that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.
At the time of De Costa and Xu’s alleged offences, other publications, such as a joint statement made by Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang, “made similar or worse imputations that were directed squarely at the Prime Minister, a member of the Cabinet”, said Ravi, who was referring to the younger sister and younger brother respectively of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
read more
Lawyer M. Ravi files constitutional challenge over TOC criminal defamation case
Lawyer M. Ravi has filed a court challenge over a criminal defamation case involving Daniel De Costa, arguing that the charge faced by his client contravenes his constitutional right to equality before the law.
De Costa was charged in court last year over an article published on socio-political website The Online Citizen (TOC).
read more
Lee siblings inform TOC editor Terry Xu that Third Party Notice not served properly
On Oct. 8, Xu shared in a Facebook page that the Third Party Notice he delivered to the two younger Lee siblings was not properly served under the Rules of Court.
Xu said he emailed Lee Hsien Yang, and hand-delivered a copy of the notice and relevant documents to Lee Wei Ling’s house.
According to Xu, he was informed by the Lees themselves that it was not done in the right manner. Xu said he will send the notice again.
read more
TOC editor Terry Xu applies to bring in PM Lee Hsien Loong's siblings in lawsuit
The chief editor of The Online Citizen (TOC) has applied to bring in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's siblings as third parties in the defamation suit that PM Lee filed against him last month.
Mr Terry Xu, who filed his application in the High Court last Thursday (Sept 26), said he wanted Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling to bear the damages if he is found to have defamed PM Lee in an Aug 15 article published by TOC.
He explained in a separate document filed last Friday that the article, "PM Lee's wife, Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members", was meant to be ironic and meant no malice.
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TOC editor-in-chief files defence against PM Lee’s defamation suit
The Online Citizen‘s editor-in-chief Terry Xu has filed his defence against Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s defamation suit on Fri afternoon (27 Sep)
Following Mr Xu’s refusal to take down an article published on TOC titled “PM Lee’s wife, Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members” and issue an apology for the post as set out in the letter of demand from the Prime Minister’s Office on 1 Sept, a writ of summons was served by PM Lee to Mr Xu on 5 Sep.
The writ of summons was sent with a statement of claim by Davinder Singh Chambers LLC on behalf of PM Lee, which alleged that the article contained statements that are false and baseless, and that it was intended disparage and impugn PM Lee as well as his office as the Prime Minister.
Mr Xu in his initial response to the demands by Mr Lee, maintained that “the contents of the article constitute fair comment”, as TOC was “merely republishing the words uttered by” PM Lee’s siblings Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling.
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Lee Wei Ling speaks out again on 38 Oxley Road: “One has to be remarkably dumb or ill-informed to not know what LKY wanted to happen to his marital home”
Around the same time as the release of a statement from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s press secretary detailing that PM Lee will testify in court if his defamation suit against the chief editor of The Online Citizen (TOC) goes to trial, his sister Dr Lee Wei Ling reiterates her stance on 38 Oxley Road, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s home.
In a lengthy Facebook post on Tuesday (September 10) evening, Dr Lee repeated what she knew of her father’s stance on his marital home: “My father made it well known in his lifetime that he would like 38 Oxley Road demolished when I no longer need it. Papa doesn’t mince words, yet a special committee of the Cabinet was formed to divine what Papa really wants!!”
She outlined the reasons why her father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew wanted his house demolished; he did not want it open to public or turned into a shrine, Mdm Kwa Geok Choo was a private person and did not want the public trampling through her home. In her Facebook post, Dr Lee remarked that “the PAP is trying to build a LKY personality cult.I hope this will fade away. Not because I am an unfilial daughter but because I want Singapore to continue to prosper and survive beyond LKY. So Oxley should be demolished after I am gone”.
read more
Dr Lee Wei Ling 19 hr
Lee Hsien Yang 19 hr
In a special session of Parliament on 13 April 2015, my older brother Hsien Loong said:
"Mr Lee’s position on 38 Oxley Road was unwavering over the years, and fully consistent with his lifelong values. We should respect his wishes, as well as those of Mrs Lee."
Since then, Loong has sought to rewrite history about Papa’s stance on demolitiion to claim, unbelievably, that Lee Kuan Yew wavered in his unwavering wish. He now says:
"However, after hearing Cabinet's unanimous views that the property should not be demolished, Mr Lee eventually came to accept that the Government was likely to preserve the property in the public interest. He was consequently prepared to be flexible and contemplate options short of demolition."
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Dr Lee Weiling makes new Facebook post, Lee Hsien Yang shares it in support
In a Facebook posting today (10 Sep), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling reiterated that founding PM Lee Kuan Yew had always wanted his house at 38 Oxley Road to be demolished.
She reminded everyone that at a special session of Parliament on 13 April 2015, PM Lee said, “Mr Lee’s position on 38 Oxley Road was unwavering over the years, and fully consistent with his lifelong values. We should respect his wishes, as well as those of Mrs Lee.”
However, since then, she said that PM Lee has sought to “rewrite history” about their father’s stance on demolition “to claim, unbelievably, that Lee Kuan Yew wavered in his unwavering wish”.
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Netizens point out the irony of PM Lee telling world leaders to ‘resolve differences calmly and peacefully’
We should try our best to resolve our differences calmly and peacefully, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the United Nations (UN) event on Tuesday (24 September). The event, Leadership Matters – Relevance of Mahatma Gandhi in the Contemporary World, was hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Gandhi’s birth.
In his speech, PM Lee said that mutual understanding, tolerance and respect can be built only when people start to appreciate the views of others, especially in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world. He said, “Differences are more easily amplified, and people more readily take offence. Tensions and conflicts are prevalent not just between countries, races and religions, but also within them.”
The premier called on other countries to contribute to global efforts, as Singapore has, in promoting respect and mutual understanding.
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‘I want to ask the Prime Minister straight in his face why he is suing me instead of his siblings’ – Terry Xu
The Online Citizen (TOC) editor Terry Xu has revealed that he intends to directly question Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on why he is suing him, instead of his own siblings, over comments made in the explosive Lee family feud in 2017.
On 1 Sept, PM Lee asked Mr Xu to remove an article and Facebook post published by TOC repeating allegations of abuse of power that his sister Lee Wei Ling made in 2017.
The PM asked TOC to publish a “full and unconditional apology,” along with an undertaking that it would not publish similar allegations in the future, and warned that he will “have no choice but to hand the matter over to his lawyers to sue to enforce his full rights in law” if TOC does not comply.
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PM Lee’s siblings can decide if they want to testify in court with Terry Xu should the defamation suit goes to trial
According to reports, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s press secretary, Ms Chang Li Lin said in a statement that he will testify in Court if the defamation suit he is filing against TOC’s editor Terry Xu goes to trial.
In a brief statement to the media, Ms Chang said that the suit was filed “because the allegations are completely false”, referring to the article that was published on TOC on 15 August which repeated allegations made by PM Lee’s siblings, Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling, about the 38 Oxley Road dispute.
Ms Chang added, “His [PM Lee’s] siblings can decide, together with Mr Xu, whether they too will testify, and repeat the allegations in court. The court can then establish the facts.”
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PM Lee may testify in court against TOC editor Xu; his siblings can also decide to take the stand
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will testify in court if his defamation suit against Terry Xu, chief editor of sociopolitical website The Online Citizen (TOC), goes to trial.
In addition, his two estranged siblings – Wei Ling and Hsien Yang – can decide whether they will testify together with Xu, and repeat the allegations in court concerning their disagreements about the family home at 38 Oxley Road and the final will drawn up by their late father, Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.
PM Lee’s press secretary Chang Li Lin released a media statement on Tuesday night (10 September) outlining his intentions. The statement said, “The Prime Minister has filed a suit against Mr Terry Xu of The Online Citizen (TOC) for defamation. He has done so because the allegations are completely false.
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PM Lee will testify if lawsuit against TOC editor goes to trial
Lee Hsien Loong will testify in court if his defa-mation suit against the chief editor of The Online Citizen (TOC) goes to trial.
PM Lee's press secretary Chang Li Lin said this in a statement last night in response to media queries.
The Prime Minister had filed the suit against Mr Terry Xu because the allegations in an Aug 15 article published by TOC are "completely false", she noted.
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Singapore prime minister sues independent news website for defamation
Critics said this is another example of the government’s harsh treatment of independent media and other groups which report about dissenting views against the country’s authorities. In Singapore, defamation is an offence that carries a maximum penalty of a two-year prison sentence and a fine.
On 15 August 2019, TOC published an article titled “PM Lee’s wife, Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members”, which was also posted on Facebook. It notes the irony of Ho sharing an article about toxic family members:
Although there’s nothing particularly wrong with the article and the points raised by the author, but the irony of Madam Ho sharing the article is what’s interesting and amusing to us. This is because everyone knows that she has a sour relationship with her husband’s family members – particularly her brother-in-law Lee Hsien Yang (LHY) and sister-in-law Dr Lee Wei Ling (LWL).The TOC article quoted previous public statements by LHY and LWL who accused their brother of going against the wishes of their late father, Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. LHY and LWL said their family house at Oxley Road was supposed to be demolished after the death of their father in 2015 but they claimed that their brother wanted to keep the house intact “to inherit (Lee Kuan Yew’s) credibility”. The prime minister denied this and told the parliament in 2017 that his father was open to how the property would be preserved or developed for the public interest.
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PM Lee sues TOC’s Terry Xu over alleged defamatory article
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is suing Terry Xu, Chief Editor of The Online Citizen (TOC), over an alleged defamatory article published last month.
The legal action comes a day after Xu said in a reply to PM Lee that he won’t comply with his demands to immediately remove the article and publicly apologise to him by Wednesday.
TOC said in a post on its Facebook page that a Writ of Summons along with a Statement of Claim has been served by Davinder Singh Chambers on behalf of PM Lee to Xu, on Thursday (5 September), 3.51pm at his house.
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PM Lee's Defamation suit against blogger Leong
"Can we love our Country and fear at the same time?”
Facebook gives way to Singapore’s ‘fake news’ law
POFMA fake news law invoked for first time
PM Lee: “POFMA would catch you!”
K Shanmugam to ‘Ah Lian’: POFMA is like a Torchlight
Singapore's fake news law passed
Singapore introduces anti-fake news law
Singapore PM sues online editor
Singapore PM threatens online editor with libel
PM Lee sues Blogger for sharing article
MDA tells The Online Citizen to register under Broadcasting Act
Mothership.sg To Register Under Broadcasting Act
Blogger asked to remove defamatory post about PM Lee
Why is Facebook in trouble?
The 'Dr Mahathir-Activists KL Meeting' Saga
States Times Review to shut down
Thumping of PJ Thum over ‘fake news’ hearing
Parliamentary committee on Fake News
Law to combat fake news to be introduced next year
Combating fake news in Singapore
Fakes and Frauds
Singapore public servants' computers no Internet from May 2017
"Can we love our Country and fear at the same time?”
Facebook gives way to Singapore’s ‘fake news’ law
POFMA fake news law invoked for first time
PM Lee: “POFMA would catch you!”
K Shanmugam to ‘Ah Lian’: POFMA is like a Torchlight
Singapore's fake news law passed
Singapore introduces anti-fake news law
Singapore PM sues online editor
Singapore PM threatens online editor with libel
PM Lee sues Blogger for sharing article
MDA tells The Online Citizen to register under Broadcasting Act
Mothership.sg To Register Under Broadcasting Act
Blogger asked to remove defamatory post about PM Lee
Why is Facebook in trouble?
The 'Dr Mahathir-Activists KL Meeting' Saga
States Times Review to shut down
Thumping of PJ Thum over ‘fake news’ hearing
Parliamentary committee on Fake News
Law to combat fake news to be introduced next year
Combating fake news in Singapore
Fakes and Frauds
Singapore public servants' computers no Internet from May 2017
