PM Lee’s lawyer backs up aggravated damages claim; Ngerng’s insists ‘no cause of action’
Blogger Roy Ngerng’s lawyer M Ravi has filed amended defence papers stating that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has “no cause of action" against his client based on Article 14 of the Constitution which gives Singaporeans the right to freedom of speech and expression.
In court documents filed on Friday and released to the media that same day, Ravi denied allegations of malice on Ngerng’s part and also denied that the prime minister is entitled to aggravated damages.
Lee is suing Ngerng for defamation after the blogger posted an article on his blog “The Heart Truths” in mid-May. Lee’s lawyer, Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, said the article contained statements alleging the prime minister of “criminal misappropriation” of Central Provident Fund (CPF) monies.
On 18 June, Ravi had requested for better information to clarify some of the claims set out by Lee’s lawyers, including claims of malice and details to support Lee’s demand for aggravated damages.
Responding in a letter dated Wednesday, Singh noted that Ngerng caused the offending words and images to be “published and republished as widely as possible” and “intended to injure..and to wound [PM Lee’s] reputation”.
Singh pointed out Ngerng’s alleged “calculated and cynical conduct” to use this case to promote himself and “cause further distress and injury” to the prime minister.
The lawyer noted that although the blogger apologised to Lee, saying the CPF allegation was “false and completely without foundation”, a YouTube video by Ngerng about the allegation being “right” indicated the apology was insincere.
Singh also added that while Lee had never sought the removal of all CPF-related posts on the blog except for the ones specified, Ngerng falsely claimed that Lee sought to prevent Ngerng from expressing his views on the CPF or from exercising his constitutional rights.
This “disingenuous suggestion” was made in a letter Ngerng intended to make public in order to “bolster his standing and in aid of his continuing public campaign” against Lee, said Singh.
Ngerng is the first online critic brought to court by a Singapore leader. The case has been brought to the Singapore High Court, where the typical minimum value of damages claims is S$250,000. A pre-trial conference has been set for July 4.
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