Lee Hsien Yang says he paid two Singaporean ministers for defamation

Mr. Lee Hsien Yang wrote on Facebook on September 29 that he paid a total of 619,335.53 SGD (483,610 USD) to Singapore's Law Minister K. Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, according to Bloomberg.

Mr Lee Hsien Yang said the amount included damages, costs and expenses related to the order of the Singapore High Court in May.

Mr. Lee Hsien Yang leaving court in 2017

The Singapore High Court in May ordered Mr. Lee Hsien Yang to pay S$400,000 (US$295,800) for defaming the two ministers.

Earlier, on November 27, 2023, Singapore High Court Judge Ng Hee-ham ordered Mr. Lee Hsien Yang to pay damages to two ministers for a "defamatory" Facebook post. Judge Ng said he made the judgment without Mr. Lee Hsien Yang present after Mr. Lee failed to respond to the allegations, according to AFP.

Judge Ngo also ordered Mr. Lee Hsien Yang to refrain from further dissemination of allegations that the two ministers had acted "corruptly."

According to The Straits Times on July 30, 2023, Minister Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Balakrishnan said they would sue Mr. Lee Hsien Yang for defamation if he did not apologize for making false accusations.

"Mr Lee Hsien Yang has accused us of engaging in corrupt and self-serving activities by allowing the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to illegally cut down trees in exchange for incentives, as well as agreeing to let SLA pay for the renovation of two houses at 26 and 31 Ridout Road. These allegations are false," Mr Shanmugam said.

Minister Shanmugam said they had asked Mr Lee to withdraw the allegations and pay damages, which would be donated to charity. "If he does not do so, we will sue," Mr Shanmugam stressed.

On 25 July 2023, Mr Lee Hsien Yang was asked to correct a Facebook post he made on 23 July, which contained comments about Ridout Road. He was issued a correction under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma), Singapore’s law to control fake news.

In his first comments since being threatened with a lawsuit by the two ministers, Mr. Lee Hsien Yang said that he was simply stating the facts published in the media, according to The Straits Times on July 30, 2023.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ong-ly-hien-duong-noi-da-tra-tien-cho-hai-bo-truong-singapore-vi-phi-bang-185240930081913565.htm