2 Indian-origin ministers sue Singapore PM's brother for defamation

Singapore, Sep 2 (IANS) Two Indian-origin ministers have sued Lee Hsien Yang, brother of Singapore Prime Minister, in the high court for defamation following his comments relating to the rental of two colonial-era bungalows in the city-state.

Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan took the step after Yang, currently in self-exile overseas, had written posts on Facebook accusing them of corruption over rental of their 100-year-old bungalows in the Ridout Park area.

The case conference will be held on September 5, according to the hearing list published on the Singapore Courts website.

The two ministers will be represented by a team of lawyers from Davinder Singh Chambers.

Shanmugam and Balakrishnan had sent lawyers’ letters to Yang in July seeking an apology and damages for defamation.

“If he does not do so, we will sue him,” Shanmugam and Balakrishnan wrote on their Facebook posts on July 27, asserting that Yang's "allegations are false".

The ministers stated that Yang has accused them of acting corruptly and for personal gain by having Singapore Land Authority (SLA) give them preferential treatment by illegally felling trees without approval, and also having SLA pay for renovations to 26 and 31 Ridout Road.

The 26 and 31 Ridout Road are two 100-year-old bungalows in the Ridout Park area that have been rented to Shanmugam and Balakrishnan.

Responding to the Ministers, Yang had said: "Shanmugam and V Balakrishnan are wrong about what I said. My post did not assert that Shanmugam and V Balakrishnan acted corruptly or for personal gain by having SLA give them preferential treatment by illegally felling trees without approval and also having SLA pay for renovations for them.

"My post simply stated facts that were already widely published in the Singapore and international media."

According to The Straits Times, Yang was referring to the SLA, a statutory board that comes under the Ministry of Law overseen by Shanmugam.

"My post was made in the UK. If K Shanmugam and V Balakrishnan believe that they have a real case, then they should sue me in the UK," Yang, who was the former CEO of telco SingTel, had stated in his post.

The Ridout Road property rental issue was first taken up by opposition politician and Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam in May when he questioned if the two ministers were “paying less than the fair market value” for their rental of the two-state properties.

It was debated in the Parliament in July, following a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) investigation and a review by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean.

The CPIB said in its report that it did not find any wrongdoing on the part of Shanmugam and Balakrishnan, while Teo’s review found that processes had been followed.

Yang is the younger son of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Along with his wife Lee Suet Fern, Yang left Singapore after coming under police investigation for lying during judicial proceedings.