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Singapore ministers serve defamation suit via Facebook Messenger amid nation’s LKY centennial celebration

As Singapore marks the 100th birthday of its late founding father, Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), a legal drama unfolds. Ministers Shanmugam and Balakrishnan serve a defamation suit to LKY’s younger son, Lee Hsien Yang via Facebook Messenger, with courts’ blessing, overshadowing the nation’s commemorative events.

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Singapore’s Law and Home Affairs Minister, Mr K Shanmugam, and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, have taken to Facebook Messenger to serve legal papers concerning a defamation suit to Mr Lee Hsien Yang (LHY).

On 16 September, LHY shared on Facebook, “Ministers Shanmugam and V Balakrishnan have just served papers for the alleged defamation on me. The Singapore courts granted permission for them to do so via Facebook message.”

Earlier, the ministers’ legal representatives had sought the court’s approval to serve the documents through Facebook Messenger, citing the impracticality of serving them to LHY in the United Kingdom.

The ministers are represented by three lawyers from Davinder Singh Chambers, including the renowned senior lawyer Davinder Singh, who is known for representing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in past high-profile defamation cases.

The timing of this revelation is notable, coinciding with the 100th birthday of the nation’s late founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, who is also LHY’s father. A day meant to celebrate Lee’s legacy, orchestrated by the People’s Action Party government, is now overshadowed by this legal drama.

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.

On 28 August, the ministers’ lawyers proposed substituted service through Facebook Messenger, asserting its potential success in reaching the defendant.

Substituted service is typically sought and ordered when the plaintiff struggles to personally serve the writ on the defendant, resorting to alternate delivery methods such as registered post, email, or newspaper ads.

In 2016, the High Court acknowledged that court papers could be served digitally for defendants challenging to reach in person. However, in that case, the plaintiff had made multiple personal service attempts, whereas, in this situation, the two ministers are bypassing personal service in the UK.

The two ministers’ legal action against LHY originates from his Facebook post on 23 July 2023. In it, they claim he insinuated their involvement in corrupt practices with the Singapore Land Authority (SLA)—an allegation both ministers have categorically denied.

Per the court documents, their lawyers, on 27 July, asked LHY to remove his post and its related comments, demanding a month-long public apology on his Facebook page.

In their correspondence, they suggested a S$25,000 donation to charity, describing it as a fraction of potential legal damages. No specific amount was stipulated in their claims, but damages in High Court litigation typically start at S$250,000.

In a Facebook post on 29 July, LHY refuted the allegations by the two ministers, emphasizing he was merely conveying public facts.

He encouraged the ministers to sue him in the UK and clarified that his words did not imply corruption or personal gain.

 

LHY on 31 July further alleged that the two ministers were pressuring him to issue a public apology that he perceived to be falsified.

He claimed the ministers demanded he make a specific statement: “I recognise that the Post meant and was understood to mean that Mr K Shamugam/Dr Vivian Balakrishnan acted corruptly and for personal gain by having the Singapore Land Authority give him preferential treatment by felling trees without approval and illegally and having it pay for renovations to 31 Ridout Road.”

LHY staunchly defends his initial words: “Two ministers have leased state-owned mansions from the agency that one of them controls, felling trees and getting state-sponsored renovations.”

He believes his original statement does not equate to an allegation of corruption or personal gain, and criticizes the ministers for insisting on a “false apology” for words he claims he did not utter.

In a subsequent Facebook post on 4 September, LHY stated he had invited the ministers to pursue legal action against him in the UK, noting, “Instead, they opted to commence legal proceedings in Singapore. The public can draw their conclusions on their reasons.”

LHY must respond within 21 days after being served with the papers, indicating whether he intends to contest the claim by the two ministers.

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Court Cases

Ex-minister Iswaran’s corruption trial postponed to 24 September

The criminal trial of former Transport Minister S. Iswaran, initially set for next week on 10 September, has been moved to 24 Sept. The Attorney-General’s Chambers confirmed that both the defense and prosecution requested the adjournment. Iswaran faces 35 charges, including 32 counts of obtaining valuables, two counts of corruption, and one count of obstructing justice.

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SINGAPORE: The criminal trial of former Transport Minister S. Iswaran, initially scheduled to commence on next week on 10 September, has been rescheduled to 24 September.

A spokesperson for the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) confirmed this change on Thursday (5 September), stating that both the defence and prosecution had jointly requested the adjournment.

“Because it was a joint request, the court acceded to it,” said the AGC spokesperson.

This delay follows the Court of Appeal’s recent dismissal of Iswaran’s third attempt to compel the prosecution to disclose all statements from its intended witnesses.

The former PAP Member for Parliament for West Coast GRC faces a total of 35 charges.

These include 32 counts of obtaining valuables as a public servant, two counts of corruption, and one count of obstructing justice.

The charges are linked to his interactions with property tycoon Ong Beng Seng and Lum Kok Seng, managing director of Lum Chang Holdings.

The charges against Iswaran involve alleged dealings with Mr Ong, including the receipt of various items such as tickets to the Singapore Formula One (F1) Grand Prix, football matches, and musical shows in Britain.

Mr Ong, credited with bringing the F1 race to Singapore, is also the chairman of race promoter Singapore GP. The prosecution alleges that these transactions, worth approximately S$218,058.95, were influenced by Iswaran’s role as Chairman of the F1 Steering Committee.

Additionally, Iswaran is accused of receiving valuable items such as bottles of whisky, golf clubs, and a Brompton bicycle from Mr Lum, with a combined value of approximately S$18,956.94.

These items were allegedly received while Mr Lum was overseeing the T315 contract, which involved addition and alteration works to the Tanah Merah Station and viaducts under Lum Chang Building Contractors and the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

Earlier, Iswaran successfully petitioned to have his charges heard in a joint trial rather than separately.

If convicted of obtaining valuable items as a public servant, Iswaran could face a prison sentence of up to two years, a fine, or both.

Conviction under the Prevention of Corruption Act for corruptly obtaining gratification could result in a sentence of up to seven years in prison, a fine of up to S$100,000, or both.

Additionally, if convicted of obstructing justice, Iswaran could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison, a fine, or both.

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Court Cases

S. Iswaran loses bid for witness statements disclosure for third time

On 3 September, former PAP Minister S. Iswaran’s third attempt to compel the prosecution to disclose all witness statements failed. The defence, represented by Davinder Singh Chambers, argued that Section 214(1)(d) of the Criminal Procedure Code requires the prosecution to disclose all witness statements, including drafts. However, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Justices Woo Bih Li and Steven Chong, struggling to follow Mr Singh’s argument, dismissed Iswaran’s bid, stating the questions were not of law of public interest.

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SINGAPORE: On Tuesday (3 September), former transport minister S Iswaran’s third attempt to compel the prosecution to provide all witness statements to the defence was unsuccessful.

The 62-year-old former minister from the People’s Action Party sought permission to refer two related legal questions of public interest to the Court of Appeal: whether the prosecution is required to include witness statements as part of its case, and whether the court can order the prosecution to do so.

According to the CPC, the prosecution must serve the defense with its case before the trial begins. This includes conditioned statements that the prosecution intends to admit at trial—written statements admissible as evidence in criminal proceedings.

The prosecution interpreted this to mean it only needs to provide conditioned statements of witnesses it plans to admit at trial.

However, Senior Counsel Davinder Singh and his team contended that the prosecution should also provide all forms of witness statements, including “draft statements,” that it intends to use.

In dismissing Iswaran’s bid, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Justice Woo Bih Li and Justice Steven Chong determined that the questions raised by the defense did not constitute questions of public interest law.

As reported by CNA, during the hearing, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Justice Steven Chong expressed difficulty in understanding Mr Davinder Singh’s arguments. Justice Chong questioned the admissibility of draft statements, stating that it is impossible to intend to admit such drafts.

Both justices repeatedly indicated they were struggling to follow Mr Singh’s interpretation of Section 214(1)(d) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Chief Justice Menon challenged Mr Singh’s reading, suggesting that it would require the prosecution to include all witness statements—whether signed or in draft form—when filing their case, even if the prosecution did not currently intend to use them at trial.

Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon questioned whether Mr. Singh’s interpretation required the inclusion of all conceivable evidence, regardless of its relevance at the time of filing.

Mr Singh agreed, explaining that the intention to admit evidence can be formed or withdrawn at any time. He argued that the law should not depend on when the prosecution decides to form that intention.

Mr Singh recalled that on 2 April, the prosecution asked the defence to consent to conditioned statements being filed without allowing them to see those statements first.

“So our position was – you can show us those statements before you ask us to consent. When we took that position, that we are entitled to see them before we would agree or not they changed their position and said we are not filing conditioned statements. ”

“So whatever one might make out of that, the point is intention is a moving target,” said Mr Singh.

Chief Justice Menon acknowledged Mr Singh’s points but expressed concern that the language of Section 214(1)(d) of the statute is not flexible or a “moving target.”

“The language of the statute was chosen by the parliament and it constrains what the court can order, ” Chief Justice told Mr Singh.

“And to be honest with you, Mr Singh, if I can cut to the chase, I think the contentions you are putting forward on the interpretation of Section 214(1)(d), I’m struggling to see how we can sustain those contentions within the language of 214.”

He also questioned where the statutory basis could be found to support the broader scope of discovery that Mr. Singh was advocating for.

Mr Singh then argued that his client has fewer rights under the current criminal disclosure regime, which replaced the previous committal hearing provisions.

He suggested that his client now has less access to the prosecution’s evidence.

However, Justice Steven Chong countered that this argument was “not a realistic one”, noting that the prosecution would disadvantage itself by not admitting certain statements.

Chief Justice Menon further pointed out that Mr Singh was essentially asking the court to effectively craft a discovery regime” similar to what existed under the old committal hearings, which is problematic because Parliament had not addressed it.

He clarified that Parliament intended for the new criminal disclosure regime, outlined in Section 214, to specify what the prosecution must provide to the defense, including only the statements the prosecution intends to admit at trial.

Trial for former Transport Minister S Iswaran to begin on September 10

Mr Iswaran was last in open court in July, where he lost his bid to compel the prosecution to make available to the defence all statements by prosecution witnesses.

The former PAP Member for Parliament for West Coast GRC faces a total of 35 charges. These include 32 counts of obtaining valuables as a public servant, two counts of corruption, and one count of obstructing justice.

The charges are linked to his interactions with property tycoon Ong Beng Seng and Lum Kok Seng, managing director of Lum Chang Holdings.

The charges against Iswaran involve alleged dealings with Mr Ong, including the receipt of various items such as tickets to the Singapore Formula One (F1) Grand Prix, football matches, and musical shows in Britain.

Mr Ong, credited with bringing the F1 race to Singapore, is also the chairman of race promoter Singapore GP. The prosecution alleges that these transactions, worth approximately S$218,058.95, were influenced by Iswaran’s role as Chairman of the F1 Steering Committee.

Additionally, Iswaran is accused of receiving valuable items such as bottles of whisky, golf clubs, and a Brompton bicycle from Mr Lum, with a combined value of approximately S$18,956.94.

These items were allegedly received while Mr Lum was overseeing the T315 contract, which involved addition and alteration works to the Tanah Merah Station and viaducts under Lum Chang Building Contractors and the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

Mr Iswaran’s trial is scheduled to commence on 10 September.

If convicted of obtaining valuable items as a public servant, Iswaran could face a prison sentence of up to two years, a fine, or both.

Conviction under the Prevention of Corruption Act for corruptly obtaining gratification could result in a sentence of up to seven years in prison, a fine of up to S$100,000, or both.

Additionally, if convicted of obstructing justice, Iswaran could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison, a fine, or both.

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