Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong tells TOC defamation trial he hopes family feud can be repaired

The prime minister is suing Terry Xu, chief editor of The Online Citizen (TOC), for libel over an article published last year on the Lee family feud

Lee and his siblings Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang disagree over the fate of their family home at 38 Oxley Road after the death of their father Lee Kuan Yew

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Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is seeking damages over the TOC article, which his lawyers said contained false allegations repeated from his siblings that gravely injure his character and reputation. Photo: AP

Published: 6:53pm, 30 Nov 2020Updated: 10:29pm, 30 Nov 2020

While his relationship with his siblings is “not in the best state” and “animosity is evident” on their end, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he and his wife Ho Ching do not want the family feud to continue.

“I hope against hope that one day, matters can be repaired. But it’s one of those things that happen in life and this too shall pass,” he said on Monday during the first day of his defamation trial.

Lee is suing Terry Xu, the chief editor of sociopolitical website The Online Citizen (TOC), for libel over an article published in August last year titled “PM Lee’s wife Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members”. It referred to an article she posted on Facebook that was titled “Here is why sometimes it is okay to cut ties with toxic family members”.

Since 2017, Lee has been embroiled in a dispute with his siblings – Dr Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang – over the fate of their family home at 38 Oxley Road after the death of their father, Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Lee is seeking damages including aggravated damages, an injunction to restrain Xu from publishing or disseminating the allegations, and costs.

The TOC article, Lee’s lawyers have said, contains false allegations repeated from his siblings that gravely injure his character and reputation. It also referenced a Facebook post written by Dr Lee earlier that year, in which she said that the prime minister misled their father into believing the Oxley Road house had been gazetted by the Singapore government.