Shanmugam, Balakrishnan to sue Lee Hsien Yang unless he withdraws Ridout Road allegations and apologises

SINGAPORE: Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan have sent lawyers’ letters to Mr Lee Hsien Yang for defamatory allegations relating to their rental of two black-and-white bungalows at Ridout Road.

In a Facebook post on Thursday (Jul 27), Mr Shanmugam said Mr Lee, the brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, had accused him and Dr Balakrishnan of "acting corruptly and for personal gain by having Singapore Land Authority (SLA) give us preferential treatment by illegally felling trees without approval, and also having SLA pay for renovations to 26 and 31 Ridout Road".

These allegations are false, said Mr Shanmugam.

"We have asked him to apologise, withdraw his allegations and pay damages, which we will donate to charity. If he does not do so, we will sue him."

Mr Lee Hsien Yang, who was formerly CEO of telco SingTel and also sat on the boards of various institutions, has made at least eight Facebook posts on Ridout Road.

The matter first emerged in early May when opposition politician and Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam questioned if the ministers were "paying less than the fair market value" for their rental of the two state properties along Ridout Road.

Investigations, including by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing or preferential treatment given to the two ministers.

The issue was debated in parliament on Jul 3. Four ministers – Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, Mr Shanmugam and Dr Balakrishnan – delivered ministerial statements.

One of Mr Lee Hsien Yang's Facebook posts, made on Sunday (Jul 23), resulted in a correction direction under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), with the Law Ministry saying that it contained untrue statements.

On Wednesday, National Development Minister Desmond Lee then penned a piece on Mr Lee Hsien Yang on the People's Action Party's (PAP) website.

Writing in his capacity as the ruling party's assistant secretary-general, Mr Desmond Lee said: "Mr Lee Hsien Yang is pursuing this vendetta because he wants to bring down the government as well as the PAP, the party his father founded.

"I am saddened by him using falsehoods to attack his brother, who has given his life to serving Singapore," he added.

"Why is he doing this?  It is consistent with his duplicitous conduct towards his father, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew."

Mr Desmond Lee said Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife Mrs Lee Suet Fern had misled the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew in the execution of the founding Prime Minister's last will and testament.

"The disciplinary tribunal established to look into Mrs Lee Suet Fern’s professional conduct, said that Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s explanations had been 'downright dishonest'," wrote Mr Desmond Lee.

"He had no qualms lying under oath." 

"SUE ME IN THE UK": LEE HSIEN YANG

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Mr Lee Hsien Yang responded, saying that Mr Shanmugam and Dr Balakrishnan were "wrong" about what he said, adding that "my post (on Jul 23) simply stated facts that were already widely published in the Singapore and international media".

"My post was made in the UK. If K Shanmugam and V Balakrishnan believe that they have a real case, then they should sue me in the UK," he added. 

Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife are not in Singapore. They left after declining to attend a police interview in July 2022, relating to lying in judicial proceedings about the late Mr Lee's will.