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The Oxley Road continuing Saga


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7 hours ago, SGMCF328 said:

Will the price of popcorn soar with the latest development in the case? 

PM Lee Hsien Loong sues TOC editor Terry Xu over allegedly defamatory online article and Facebook post

SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is suing the chief editor of The Online Citizen, Mr Terry Xu, over an article TOC posted on its website and Facebook page on Aug 15.

According to a TOC Facebook post on Thursday (Sept 5), the court documents said that the article contained “statements that are false and baseless and were calculated to disparage and impugn PM Lee as well as his office as the Prime Minister”.

This statement of claim, together with the writ, was served on Mr Xu at his house on Thursday by PM Lee’s lawyers Davinder Singh Chambers, TOC added.

TOC also said that Mr Xu has eight days to file notice in court that he will be defending himself against the claim by PM Lee. The article, titled “PM Lee’s wife, Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members”, had commented on a Facebook post by Ms Ho Ching and her relationship with PM Lee’s siblings, Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling.

Ms Ho had shared a link to an article titled “Here is why sometimes it is okay to cut ties with toxic family members”.

The TOC article also referenced a Facebook post made by Dr Lee in May, in which she said that PM Lee had misled their father, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, into believing that the family house in Oxley Road had been gazetted by the Government.

On Sunday, PM Lee’s press secretary Chang Li Lin said in a letter to Mr Xu that the article and post repeat several false allegations against PM Lee previously made by Dr Lee. Ms Chang said these allegations are “completely with-out foundation”. 

She added that the TOC article also made other false allegations.

“One such false allegation is that after it was revealed to Mr Lee in late 2013 that the 38 Oxley Road property had in fact not been gazetted, he removed PM Lee as an executor and trustee of his will,” Ms Chang said in the letter.

“The truth is Mr Lee had not included PM Lee as an executor and trustee in any of his wills from 2011 onwards. Mr Lee had explained to PM Lee that he did not want to put PM Lee in a difficult position, if the Government were to acquire the property and his siblings took issue over the compensation.”

These allegations in the article and post are libellous, Ms Chang added.

She said PM Lee asked Mr Xu to remove both the article and post as well as to publish a full and unconditional apology, and an undertaking not to publish any similar allegations, by Wednesday.

But on Wednesday, Mr Xu said in a Facebook post and a letter on the TOC website that he would not comply with PM Lee’s demands.

Mr Xu said in the letter to PM Lee: “Although I do fear that the cost stemming from the possible legal suit from you may be hefty, that is a price that I am willing to pay to not only uphold my principles, but also to uphold my obligations to Singapore and my fellow Singaporeans.”

The pre-trial conference for the suit has been set for Oct 15.

Sibei song ah. I beri Nong time no sue and fix people liao ah....

Terry can start crowdfunding liao....

69577512_10157632736651383_8135073387572625408_n.jpg

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Why never mention MCF? 😅

TOC article ‘gravely injured’ PM Lee’s character and reputation, say lawyers seeking aggravated damages in defamation suit
Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/toc-article-gravely-injured-pm-lees-character-and-reputation-say-lawyers-seeking

SINGAPORE — In launching a defamation suit against the editor of The Online Citizen (TOC), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s lawyers are arguing that an article published by the website contained “false and baseless” allegations, including that Mr Lee had misled his late father into thinking their Oxley Road property had been gazetted by the Government.

Outlining their grounds for the lawsuit against Mr Terry Xu, the lawyers from Davinder Singh Chambers LLC said in a statement of claim that PM Lee “has been gravely injured in his character and reputation, and has been brought into public scandal, odium and contempt”.

The statement and a writ of summons were served on Mr Xu at his home on Thursday (Sept 5) by the lawyers.

PM Lee is embroiled in a dispute with his siblings, Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang, over the fate of their 38 Oxley Road family home after the death of their father, Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

On Aug 15, TOC first published the article titled “PM Lee’s wife Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members”. A link to the article was also posted on its Facebook page.

PM Lee’s press secretary Chang Li Lin issued a letter to TOC on Sept 1, demanding that it remove the article and publish an apology. Ms Chang called it a “scurrilous” attack on the prime minister’s character and integrity. 

Ms Chang said in the letter that the article and Facebook post repeated several false allegations that were levelled against PM Lee by Dr Lee. 

The article was subsequently taken down but the Facebook post remained up.

Mr Xu responded on Sept 4 to say that he was “of the opinion” that the article was not defamatory and he would not comply with PM Lee’s request. 

He argued that he was “merely republishing the words uttered by (PM Lee’s) siblings”. The article was then reposted on TOC.

‘CALCULATED TO DISPARAGE AND IMPUGN’

In a copy of the statement of claim seen by TODAY, PM Lee’s lawyers noted that there was “substantial publication” of the article in Singapore.

Notably, it was republished on various websites and blogs such as Hardwarezone. As of 4.35pm on Sept 1, the Facebook post had been “shared” 1,835 times on various social media platforms, with 192 people sharing it on Facebook.

The post, which all members of the public could view, also “attracted hundreds of ‘reactions’ and comments”, the lawyers stated.

As for the content of the article, the lawyers said the “offending words… meant and were understood to mean” that PM Lee caused his father to consider other alternatives to demolition of the Oxley Road home, and to change his will to bequeath the house to PM Lee.

The lawyers also said that the article had alleged that Mr Lee removed PM Lee as an executor and trustee of his will, after he learned in late 2013 that the property had not been gazetted.

“The offending words are false and baseless and were calculated to disparage and impugn the plaintiff as well as in his office as the prime minister,” the lawyers stated.

PM Lee is also claiming damages, an injunction that Mr Xu is restrained from publishing or disseminating the allegations, and costs.

His lawyers noted that they would rely on the following facts to recover aggravated damages:

The nature and gravity of the libel

The mode, extent and timing of its publication

Malice on the part of Mr Xu, as he had published Ms Chang’s letter on TOC and reposted the article on Wednesday

Mr Xu has eight days to file a notice that he will be defending himself against the suit.

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3 hours ago, SGMCF328 said:

Why never mention MCF? 😅

 

ST one got mention leh...

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/article-by-the-online-citizen-has-gravely-injured-pm-lees-reputation-say-his-lawyers

Quote

The article was also republished on the Internet on various blogs and websites, such as the HardwareZone forum, My Car Forum site and Under The Angsana Tree blog.

 

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 I think the man to watch will be Tcb. Don't see him quiet quiet. When come election time, I really feel he will go contest to whichever Lhl is. Then it will be a contest between Lhl and Tcb. Show hand. If Lhl lost and this lawsuit is still ongoing. It will be super interesting to see what will happen by then. 

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1 hour ago, Yewheng said:

 I think the man to watch will be Tcb. Don't see him quiet quiet. When come election time, I really feel he will go contest to whichever Lhl is. Then it will be a contest between Lhl and Tcb. Show hand. If Lhl lost and this lawsuit is still ongoing. It will be super interesting to see what will happen by then. 

Well, his only chance is to get US to back him like what they did in HK. Otherwise he will be disqualified before the election.  Although his approach is much milder than what we are seeing in HK, it is still a real threat.

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10 hours ago, Yewheng said:

 I think the man to watch will be Tcb. Don't see him quiet quiet. When come election time, I really feel he will go contest to whichever Lhl is. Then it will be a contest between Lhl and Tcb. Show hand. If Lhl lost and this lawsuit is still ongoing. It will be super interesting to see what will happen by then. 

Are we going backward in supporting an ole man?

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3 hours ago, Davidtch said:

Are we going backward in supporting an ole man?

Old man not known to be such a dick is better than younger one known to be such 

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3 minutes ago, Vid said:

So the original poster is fine but the person who reproduces the same is sued...

But... but... lsw..  his PRIVATE Facebook convo.. kenna reproduced... LSW kenna sue leh???

 

Very complicated logic ah... 😭

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1 hour ago, Vid said:

So the original poster is fine but the person who reproduces the same is sued...

Think he had waited for this very long liao. He need a court case to prove his "innocent". Cannot sue siblings, then sue the next person who jump out lor.

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6 hours ago, Benarsenal said:

So much for no double standards and no cronyism. Siblings say bo taiji. Other people say kena sue.

He's kind of in a bind. Don't sue, kena called out for double standards. Sue, kena called out for stomping on "Asian values" and further tarnishing his father's legacy. 

What he *should* do (in my view) if he's abstaining from suing his sibling(s) is stop suing others who merely link to their words or echo them. That's what looks hypocritical. 

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7 minutes ago, Turboflat4 said:

He's kind of in a bind. Don't sue, kena called out for double standards. Sue, kena called out for stomping on "Asian values" and further tarnishing his father's legacy. 

What he *should* do (in my view) if he's abstaining from suing his sibling(s) is stop suing others who merely link to their words or echo them. That's what looks hypocritical. 

Like that look even worse.

1st of all, LHL has to prove that the original post is defamatory.  Since he did not sue, it means that it is not defamatory.

How to prove subsequent repost is defamatory?

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3 minutes ago, Davidtch said:

Like that look even worse.

1st of all, LHL has to prove that the original post is defamatory.  Since he did not sue, it means that it is not defamatory.

How to prove subsequent repost is defamatory?

If this was science or math, yes, difficult to prove. 

But I can never figure out how the law works. 

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12 minutes ago, Davidtch said:

Like that look even worse.

1st of all, LHL has to prove that the original post is defamatory.  Since he did not sue, it means that it is not defamatory.

How to prove subsequent repost is defamatory?

What if...

The logic is that already established the "truth,  the plain truth,  and nothing but the truth" during parliament dramedy,  and confirmed by all the needed MPs.

Courts are just to punish people who doubt the officially approved "truth". Parliament cannot be wrong ma.

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2 hours ago, Turboflat4 said:

He's kind of in a bind. Don't sue, kena called out for double standards. Sue, kena called out for stomping on "Asian values" and further tarnishing his father's legacy. 

What he *should* do (in my view) if he's abstaining from suing his sibling(s) is stop suing others who merely link to their words or echo them. That's what looks hypocritical. 

Exactly. From my POV the only reason he not suing is merely the fact that they are his siblings.

So the message being sent out is that Lee family can do anything and no consequences. 🙄

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