Court to assess damages on 2 & 3 May in defamation case involving Ministers Shanmugam and Balakrishnan against Lee Hsien Yang

On 2 May and 3 May, the Supreme Court will hold a damages hearing for the defamation suit filed by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Law, and Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs, against Mr Lee Hsien Yang (LHY).

The case stems from a Facebook post by LHY related to the Ridout Road saga, which previously concluded in the ministers’ favour,  following LHY’s failure to respond within the required timeframe, resulting in a default judgment for the ministers.

On 2 August 2023, the claimants commenced originating claim (OC) in the General Division of the High Court.

On 14 August, the two ministers’ legal team initially requested the court’s permission to serve the papers on LHY in the UK, where he currently resides, considering the Singapore court as the most appropriate venue for the case.

In their affidavits, Mr Shanmugam and Dr Balakrishnan highlighted their prominent roles as ministers in Singapore and underscored the relevance of the alleged defamatory statements to events in Singapore.

By 16 August, the court permitted the papers to be served on LHY outside its jurisdiction, the two ministers served legal papers concerning a defamation suit LHY via Facebook Messenger on 15 September last year.

In his verdict delivered on 27 November last year, Justice Goh said that he found strong reasons to apprehend that LHY would repeat the defamatory allegations and granted the injunction order sought by the claimants, restraining LHY from publishing or disseminating the alleged defamatory statements.

Central to the controversy are the remarks made by LHY in a Facebook post on 23 July last year, which stated, “Two ministers have leased state-owned mansions from the agency one oversees,” and included mentions of tree felling and state-funded renovations at the Ridout properties.

Mr Shanmugam, as the Minister for Law, oversees the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), which leases out the state-owned properties, including that which he rents on 26 Ridout Road.

The ministers argued that LHY’s comments in his 23 July 2023 post had implied corrupt practices, which they have vehemently denied as baseless and harmful to their reputations.

LHY, the brother of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and son of the late Lee Kuan Yew, maintains that his statements do not imply corruption or personal gain. He has criticized the ministers for demanding what he considers a “false apology” for accusations he never made.

The forthcoming court session, set to take place in Court 4E of the Supreme Court from 10 AM, aims to assess the damages LHY must pay.

The ministers previously proposed a S$25,000 charity donation as part of a broader retraction and apology before the commencement of the legal proceeding; however, they did not suggest a specific amount for court consideration. Typically, defamation damages in Singapore begin at S$250,000 in high court cases.

Representing the ministers is Davinder Singh Chambers LLC, with Senior Counsel Mr Davinder Singh at the helm—a distinguished legal figure and former People’s Action Party Member of Parliament, renowned for representing political figures in defamation such as in the defamation suits initiated by PM Lee and other high-profile cases, including the recent corruption charges against former Transport Minister S Iswaran.

LHY will not be represented at the hearing as he has chosen not to participate in the process. He previously expressed a preference for the United Kingdom as the venue for the litigation. However, the two ministers, advised by their legal team, argue that Singapore is “clearly and distinctly the most appropriate forum for the trial.”