PM defamation case

Lim Tean questions libel suit against blogger Leong Sze Hian; PM Lee says he had to clear his name

PM Lee Hsien Loong had sued Leong Sze Hian over a post the blogger shared on his Facebook page on Nov 7, 2018.
PM Lee Hsien Loong had sued Leong Sze Hian over a post the blogger shared on his Facebook page on Nov 7, 2018. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

There was no proper justification for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to sue blogger and financial adviser Leong Sze Hian for defamation, contended Mr Leong's lawyer Lim Tean yesterday.

This was because the Government had already taken sufficient action to debunk the false allegations against it, he said.

Mr Lim, an opposition politician who heads the Peoples Voice party, pointed the High Court to statements put out by the Singapore High Commission in Malaysia, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Infocomm and Media Development Authority on the case, as well as remarks made in November 2018 by Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam.

All these were widely carried in the mainstream media, he said.

The lawsuit against his client, added Mr Lim, was "really an attempt to protect the integrity of the Government and reputation of the Government, not a genuine libel action for the plaintiff to recover his reputation".

PM Lee had sued Mr Leong over a post the blogger shared on his Facebook page on Nov 7, 2018, which contained a link to an article by Malaysian news site The Coverage.

The article contained allegations that former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak had signed "secret deals" with PM Lee in exchange for Singapore banks' help in laundering money from scandal-ridden Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB.

Mr Lim began the four-day hearing, presided over by Justice Aedit Abdullah, by going through various media reports of statements made by the authorities on the case. These media outlets were all "prominent and influential" in Singapore, and the statements would have been read by many Singaporeans, he said.

Mr Lim said the government statements had been effective in debunking the false allegations, and PM Lee might have been entitled to sue, but not justified in doing so.

PM Lee replied: "We went to the best of our ability to rebut as strongly as we could."

The government statements, he said, "had an impact but they didn't answer one question: What is Lee Hsien Loong doing to clear his name?"

Government actions do not obviate the need for him to take private civil action, he added.

PM Lee said he had to act, adding: "In previous cases, where there is justification, I have sued."

Mr Lim also asked PM Lee if he was "riding two horses" by taking action as head of government and as a private citizen.

"I don't accept that," PM Lee replied. "As PM, I am responsible for the operation of government and to make sure it protects its reputation. But at the same time, as a private citizen, I have to protect my reputation and integrity and I have a responsibility to do so."

Mr Lim then pointed out that PM Lee sued Mr Leong on Nov 12, several days after the authorities issued their statements.

PM Lee said his lawyer's letter to Mr Leong was issued after the various agencies put up statements, but his instructions to his lawyer Davinder Singh were made before that.

"Whether there were statements by the Government were irrelevant to my decision to sue the defendant. Does he take down, apologise and commit not to repeat? He had not at the time I decided to sue," he added.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 07, 2020, with the headline Lim Tean questions libel suit against blogger Leong Sze Hian; PM Lee says he had to clear his name. Subscribe