Mr Shanmugam and Dr Balakrishnan appeared in court on May 2 at a hearing to assess the amount of damages they are entitled to get from Mr Lee.
They took the stand briefly to affirm the contents of the affidavits they had filed to the court.
Mr Lee was absent.
After the 20-minute hearing ended, Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, who is acting for the two ministers, told reporters that they did not specify the amount of damages sought. They were leaving it to the court, he said.
Mr Singh argued in his opening statement that Mr Lee’s conduct had aggravated the injury caused by his defamatory post.
He said Mr Lee had refused to apologise for his post after receiving a legal demand to do so, and instead “proceeded to wage a public campaign to gain sympathy and support from Singaporeans” against the two ministers.
The lawyer noted that despite making numerous Facebook posts drawing attention to the defamatory post, Mr Lee “has never once said” that his statements were true.
“That is very telling. He has also not come to court to claim that they are true. The inference is compelling that he knew and knows that the offending words are false,” he said.
In 2021, PM Lee was awarded $100,000 in general damages and $33,000 in aggravated damages.
Mr Singh compared Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s conduct to that of Mr Leong, who was sued for sharing, on his Facebook page, an article from a Malaysian news site falsely linking PM Lee to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad corruption scandal in Malaysia.
He noted that Mr Leong removed his post after three days, but Mr Lee’s post was available for more than 3½ months.
Mr Shanmugam, who is Law and Home Affairs Minister, and Dr Balakrishnan, who is Foreign Minister, had filed separate defamation suits in the High Court against Mr Lee in August 2023.
The legal action arose over the post on Mr Lee’s Facebook page made on July 23.
Mr Lee is the younger son of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and brother of PM Lee.
Shanmugam, Vivian seek aggravated damages from Lee Hsien Yang over post on Ridout Road rentals
SINGAPORE – Cabinet ministers K. Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan are seeking aggravated damages against Mr Lee Hsien Yang for defaming them in a public post on his Facebook page about their rental of state bungalows in Ridout Road.
Mr Shanmugam and Dr Balakrishnan appeared in court on May 2 at a hearing to assess the amount of damages they are entitled to get from Mr Lee.
They took the stand briefly to affirm the contents of the affidavits they had filed to the court.
Mr Lee was absent.
After the 20-minute hearing ended, Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, who is acting for the two ministers, told reporters that they did not specify the amount of damages sought. They were leaving it to the court, he said.
Mr Singh argued in his opening statement that Mr Lee’s conduct had aggravated the injury caused by his defamatory post.
He said Mr Lee had refused to apologise for his post after receiving a legal demand to do so, and instead “proceeded to wage a public campaign to gain sympathy and support from Singaporeans” against the two ministers.
The lawyer noted that despite making numerous Facebook posts drawing attention to the defamatory post, Mr Lee “has never once said” that his statements were true.
“That is very telling. He has also not come to court to claim that they are true. The inference is compelling that he knew and knows that the offending words are false,” he said.
Mr Singh cited Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s defamation suit against blogger and financial adviser Leong Sze Hian.
In 2021, PM Lee was awarded $100,000 in general damages and $33,000 in aggravated damages.
Mr Singh compared Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s conduct to that of Mr Leong, who was sued for sharing, on his Facebook page, an article from a Malaysian news site falsely linking PM Lee to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad corruption scandal in Malaysia.
He noted that Mr Leong removed his post after three days, but Mr Lee’s post was available for more than 3½ months.
Mr Singh said Mr Lee had “continued to double down” on the false allegations, although it was widely known that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau’s investigations found no evidence that the ministers received preferential treatment or had abused their position for personal gain.
Mr Shanmugam, who is Law and Home Affairs Minister, and Dr Balakrishnan, who is Foreign Minister, had filed separate defamation suits in the High Court against Mr Lee in August 2023.
The legal action arose over the post on Mr Lee’s Facebook page made on July 23.
Mr Lee is the younger son of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and brother of PM Lee.
A lot more at https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/shanmugam-vivian-in-court-for-defamation-suit-damages-hearing-lee-hsien-yang-absent