Singapore court orders PM’s estranged brother to pay damages to ministers, Shanmugam, Balakrishnan over Ridout Road post
- Lee Hsien Yang, the estranged brother of Singapore’s PM, was ordered to pay damages to 2 cabinet ministers over a Facebook post they said was defamatory
- Lee’s post related to a controversy over the rental of colonial bungalows by the foreign affairs and law ministers, who have both been cleared of any wrongdoing
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Lee Hsien Yang’s post related to a controversy over the rental of sprawling colonial bungalows by the Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who have both been cleared of any wrongdoing following two investigations.
The allegations he made that the two ministers were given preferential treatment, sparked an outcry in the city state, where most of the population lives in government-built high-rise flats.
Singapore invokes fake news law against Lee Hsien Yang over Facebook post
High Court Judge Goh Yihan said he issued the default judgment after Lee failed to respond to the charges.
The amount to be paid to the ministers will be determined at a separate hearing, he added.
He also directed Lee Hsien Yang, 66, to refrain from further disseminating the allegations claiming that the ministers acted “corruptly”.
He was served a court notice about the lawsuits through Facebook Messenger.
The younger Lee and his sister, Lee Wei Ling, have accused their prime minister brother of going against their father’s wish to have the house demolished.
Singapore ministers demand Lee Hsien Yang apologise for ‘defaming’ them
They accused him of trying to capitalise on their father’s legacy to build a dynasty – a charge Lee Hsien Loong, has rejected.
If Wong takes over, it would be only the second time since Singapore’s independence in 1965 that the prime minister is not a member of the Lee family.
The patriarch Lee was the country’s first prime minister.
