Lee Hsien Yang ordered to pay S$200,000 each to Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan for defamation

SINGAPORE: Mr Lee Hsien Yang, the brother of former prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, has been ordered by the High Court to pay S$200,000 (US$147,880) each to ministers K Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan for defaming them over their rental of state properties in Ridout Road.

In a judgment released on Friday (May 24), Justice Goh Yihan explained his reasons for awarding the damages to the two ministers, who had filed separate defamation claims against Mr Lee.

The lawsuits were initiated over comments Mr Lee made on his Facebook page on Jul 23, 2023, suggesting that the ministers had acted corruptly by having the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) give them preferential treatment in the rental of the Ridout Road properties.

Mr Lee, who is not in Singapore, also charged that "trust in the PAP has been shattered", pointing to then-PM Lee Hsien Loong's "failure of leadership".

The Facebook comments came after the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) released findings a month prior, stating that there had been no wrongdoing or preferential treatment given to the two ministers.

Mr Lee did not appear in court to defend himself against the allegations.

Mr Shanmugam, who is the Law and Home Affairs Minister, and Foreign Affairs Minister Balakrishnan were represented by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh and took the stand briefly in a hearing earlier this month.

JUDGE'S FINDINGS

Justice Goh said in his judgment on Friday that he was satisfied that Mr Lee had "consciously chosen not to respond" to the claims.

Because Mr Lee cannot contest his liability for defamation as he did not turn up or find a lawyer to represent him on the assessment of damages, Justice Goh said he had to decide the case on the basis of the claimants' case in the absence of any countervailing material Mr Lee could have produced.

Justice Goh said the claimants here are "long-serving Cabinet ministers and Members of Parliament".

"They are public leaders and persons of the highest integrity who undoubtedly have a high standing. Accordingly, this is a factor that points towards the award of higher damages," he added.

Mr Lee is also "well-known in Singapore" with over 89,000 followers on Facebook, a factor that points towards awarding higher damages, the judge said, agreeing with the ministers' arguments.

Justice Goh also found that Mr Lee had "acted with malice" in posting the offending words, justifying not only higher damages but aggravated damages.

"Based on the evidence before me, I find that the defendant knew that the offending words were false, that he published them recklessly, and/or without considering or caring whether they are true or not," said Justice Goh. 

He said the evidence shows that Mr Lee's post came after CPIB's investigation already found no preferential treatment given to the ministers over the Ridout Road properties.

"The CPIB's investigation also established that there was no evidence that the claimants had abused their position for personal gain. This is because trees were felled with the National Parks Board's approval, and the works that the SLA had done to 26 and 31 Ridout Road as landlord were to make them safe and habitable in accordance with conservation guidelines," said Justice Goh. 

"Thus, the works done by the SLA prior to handover were consistent with its general practices and comparable to that done for similar properties."

In determining the appropriate amount of damages, Justice Goh referred to past cases of defamation involving Cabinet or prime ministers.

The general and aggravated damages awarded to a prime minister have ranged from "$230,000 to $260,000 in the 1980s to sums in excess of $300,000 in the last 20 years", the judge noted.

On top of the damages, he ordered Mr Lee to pay costs of S$51,000 to each minister.