Singapore police arrest lawyer set to defend PM Lee Hsien Loong’s defamation suit

Lim Tean was arrested for alleged criminal breach of trust days before he was set to defend a client in a case against Lee

The prime minister is suing financial adviser Leong Sze Hian over a Facebook post in which he shared a story linking Lee to Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal

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Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Photo: DPA

Published: 4:02pm, 2 Oct 2020Updated: 5:44pm, 2 Oct 2020

Singapore police on Friday arrested a lawyer for alleged criminal breach of trust, days before he was set to defend a client in a defamation case against the city state’s prime minister.

Police said the lawyer, Lim Tean, who leads a small opposition party that unsuccessfully contested an election this year, was also being investigated for stalking and had not complied with earlier notices to attend police interviews.

“The police had no choice but to arrest Mr Lim Tean in order to conduct the investigations,” police said in a statement, adding that they rejected allegations by Lim that the arrest was politically motivated.

The prime minister’s press secretary referred Reuters to the police statement and did not have further comment.

In a trial likely to be watched closely next week, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is suing financial adviser Leong Sze Hian over a Facebook post in which he shared a story linking Lee to Malaysia’s 1MDB state fund money laundering scandal.

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