Singapore: Two Indian-origin ministers sue PM’s brother for defamation
Singapore
Two Indian-origin cabinet ministers of Singapore have sued the younger brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for defamation. Lee Hsien Yang had earlier alleged that the two ministers managed to get preferential treatment from the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) over the rental of two state-owned bungalows.
The case has been listed for hearing on Tuesday (September 5) at 9 am, Channel News Asia reported citing the Singapore Courts' website.
The two Indian-origin ministers areLaw and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
What are the allegations against the two ministers?
According to a Facebook post by Minister Shanmugam, Yang had accused him and Balakrishnan of "acting corruptly and for personal gain by having Singapore Land Authority (SLA) give us preferential treatment by illegally felling trees without approval, and also having SLA pay for renovations to 26 and 31 Ridout Road".
Later he added that the allegations levelled by Yang are totally false and fabricated.
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Shanmugam also said that he rented the Ridout Road property to prepare for the sale of the family home, not profiting from the rental.
Investigation
An investigation took place following the accusations, which was led by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). In its report, the CPIB later said there was no misconduct found related to the transactions.
Watch:Singapore: Indian-origin Tharman Shanmugaratnam wins Singapore's presidential election
The CPIB report, released on June 28, said the two ministers did not benefit from getting any privileged information. They were not given preferential treatment and their rental rates were comparable to that of neighbouring properties, the report stated.
Lee Hsien Yang fails to retract allegations
After the two ministers were given a clean-chit by the CPIB, Yang was required by law to put up a ‘correction notice’ on a public platform, saying that his earlier accusations were untrue.
Yang did follow the rule but later published new posts saying he still stood by what he had earlier alleged.
Pointing out that his post was made in the United Kingdom, Lee Hsien Yang said, "If K Shanmugam and V Balakrishnan believe that they have a real case, then they should sue me in the UK." Although Lee Hsien Yang is overseas, he can still be sued in Singapore, according to the media report.
It must be noted that Yang no longer stays in Singapore; instead, he left the nation along with his wife in July 2022 after declining to attend a police interview.
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