Singapore Ministers Sue PM Lee’s Brother for Defamation

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore’s ministers of law and foreign affairs are suing the estranged brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for defamation.

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A case conference will be held on Sept. 5, according to a hearing list on the Singapore Courts website. There were no details on the suit.

Law Minister K. Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan had demanded Lee Hsien Yang withdraw allegations made in a Facebook post on July 23 in relation to state property that they rented, and pay damages, which would be donated to charity.

Singapore Ministers Demand Damages From Prime Minister’s Brother

Lee Hsien Yang said on July 29 that the ministers misinterpreted his comments about them, and he had not asserted they “acted corruptly or for personal gain” as alleged. Singapore issued him with a fake news notice for the July 23 post.

He also said then that as the offending post was made while he was in the UK, the ministers should sue him there if they “believe that they have a real case.”

“I invited Ministers Shanmugam and Balakrishnan to sue me in the UK, where I made the statement that upset them,” Lee Hsien Yang told Bloomberg News on Saturday. “Instead, they have chosen to commence legal action in Singapore.”

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