High Court to hear submissions for Bloomberg defamation trial on May 22
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It follows seven days of trial that began on April 7, which saw (from left) Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam and Bloomberg journalist Low De Wei in the witness stand.
PHOTOS: LIANHE ZAOBAO, GIN TAY
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- Singapore ministers K. Shanmugam and Tan See Leng are suing Bloomberg over a December 2024 article about property purchases.
- The ministers claim the article implied they exploited a lack of transparency in property dealings for personal gain.
- Closing submissions in the defamation trial are set for May 22 after a seven-day trial involving four witnesses.
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SINGAPORE - Lawyers involved in the defamation suit initiated by two Cabinet ministers against news organisation Bloomberg and its journalist will be presenting oral submissions in the High Court on May 22.
It follows seven days of trial that began on April 7, which saw four witnesses in the stand, including the plaintiffs – Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng.
Bloomberg News senior executive editor Madeleine Lim and journalist Low De Wei were the two witnesses for the defence.
A spokesperson for the judiciary told The Straits Times that the date for the closing arguments was fixed following a hearing in chambers on April 16.
Closing submissions involve a summary of the evidence presented or heard during the trial and arguments for the court to rule in their favour.
The case involves a Bloomberg article headlined “Singapore mansion deals are increasingly shrouded in secrecy” published on Dec 12, 2024.
The report mentions the sale of a good class bungalow (GCB) in the Queen Astrid Park area to UBS Trustees for $88 million in 2023. The property was previously owned by Mr Shanmugam, who is also Home Affairs Minister.
The article also mentions Dr Tan’s non-caveated purchase of a bungalow in Brizay Park for nearly $27.3 million that year.
Mr Shanmugam and Dr Tan are seeking general damages, saying the article falsely suggested that they had taken advantage of a lack of checks and balances or disclosure requirements to carry out their property dealings in a non-transparent manner.
The ministers are also seeking aggravated damages, citing the fact that Bloomberg did not take down the article.
In their joint opening statement, the defendants said the genesis of the article was Mr Low’s work as a reporter on real estate matters, and in observing broader market trends in Singapore’s GCB market.
They said the article did not originate from any intention to report on the ministers or their respective transactions.
