SINGAPORE: The libel case against Dr Chee Soon Juan and his sister had nothing to do with political freedom in Singapore.

Instead, "it was for defamation arising from the Chees' false claims" that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew "are criminal and corrupt".

These were among the points raised by Madam Yeong Yoon Ying, press secretary to MM Lee, in her letter to the Asian edition of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Mdm Yeong was responding to the newspaper's editorial titled Democracy in Singapore, which was published yesterday.

"Your editorial ... relying on a 'partial transcript', has misunderstood the issue in the libel case involving Dr Chee Soon Juan and his sister," Mdm Yeong said.

In its editorial last Thursday, the newspaper had offered its readers a glimpse of what it described as a "David-vs-Goliath exchange" between Dr Chee, the head of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), and MM Lee during last month's court hearing to assess damages arising from the defamation suit.

In 2006, the Chees lost the suit brought by PM Lee and MM Lee over an article Dr Chee had published in the SDP newsletter, which drew parallels between governance in the old National Kidney Foundation and the Singapore government.

Referring to a partial transcript of the courtroom exchange between MM Lee and Dr Chee, the editorial noted: "Mr Chee is no orator, and on one level the dissident was no match for the eloquent Mr Lee. But when the subject turned to the moral underpinnings of democracy - freedoms of speech, assembly and association - the debate went game, set and match to Mr Chee."

In her letter, Mdm Yeong noted that the Chees had failed "to produce credible defence or evidence to back up their claims".

She added: "Having lost, Dr Chee in open court then called the Singapore leaders 'murderers, robbers, child molesters' and 'rapists'. The Chees also rebuked the judge, ignored her orders and shouted her down."

Mdm Yeong's letter prompted Dr Chee to pen his own response.

In a letter to the WSJ - which was also posted on his party's website - Dr Chee challenged her statement that he had called the Singapore leaders by such names.

"The outrageousness of Mdm Yeong's lie borders on the comedic.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew, or his counsel, is in possession of court transcripts and audio-recordings that would show whether I had uttered those words.

He must now produce the part of the transcript that quotes me saying those words or he risks destroying his own credibility," Dr Chee wrote.

The WSJ editorial had also said that since the MM Lee-Dr Chee exchange took place in a courtroom, the dialogue is "therefore privileged - which means we can report it without risking a lawsuit, which Mr Lee often files against critics".

However, Mdm Yeong noted that "many opposition politicians routinely criticise government leaders, but they are not sued because they have not uttered slanderous falsehoods".

"Contrary to your editorial, Singapore upholds free speech and the right to disagree, subject to the law," Mdm Yeong said in her letter. - TODAY/vm