Singapore ex-PM’s brother pays ministers over $619,000 for defamation

Bloomberg

Updated 29 September 2024 at 9:08 pm·1-min read

(From left to right) Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Lee Hsien Yang and Law Minister K. Shanmugam. (Photos: Reuters/Chalinee Thirasupa and Edgar Su

By Nurin Sofia and Chanyaporn Chanjaroen

(Bloomberg) — The estranged brother of former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he has paid two senior ministers who sued him for defamation.

Lee Hsien Yang paid a total of S$619,335.53 ($483,610) to Law Minister K. Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, according to a Facebook post on Sunday. The amount included damages, costs and disbursements related to a Singapore High Court order in May, Lee told Bloomberg News.

The ministers had sued Lee last year, demanding he withdraw allegations made in a Facebook post for claims they received preferential treatment for renting colonial black-and-white state bungalows. They also sought damages, which would be donated to charity.

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