Terry Xu ordered to pay PM Lee nearly S$88,000 in costs, disbursements for TOC defamation suit
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (left) and chief editor of The Online Citizen Terry Xu arrive at the Supreme Court on Nov 30, 2020 for the defamation trial. (Photos: Nuria Ling/TODAY)
SINGAPORE: A High Court judge has ordered Terry Xu, editor of the now-defunct website The Online Citizen (TOC), to pay S$87,832.93 to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for costs and disbursements for a defamation suit.
Mr Lee had sued Mr Xu for defamation over an article written by TOC writer Rubaashini Shunmuganathan about Mr Lee's disputes with his siblings over their family home at 38 Oxley Road.
The High Court awarded the Prime Minister S$210,000 in total damages. Of this, Mr Xu and Ms Rubaashini were jointly liable for the sum of S$160,000, as the court noted that Mr Lee should not be doubly compensated.
The extra sum of S$50,000 was in aggravated damages that only Mr Xu was ordered to pay.
Mr Xu has raised more than S$210,000 via crowdfunding. Ms Rubaashini did not turn up for the trial.
The hearing on costs was heard in chambers on Wednesday morning. Mr Xu's lawyer, Lim Tean, wrote in a Facebook post after the hearing that his client has to pay Mr Lee S$87,832.93 in costs and disbursements.
In response to media queries, the Prime Minister's press secretary reiterated that Mr Lee will donate to charity the damages that he has been awarded.
