Singapore Prime Minister's younger brother ordered by court to compensate two ministers

Singapore High Court Judge Ng Hee-han said on November 27 that he had made the ruling without Lee Hsien Yang present after Lee failed to respond to the allegations, according to AFP. Mr. Ng added that the amount of money Lee Hsien Yang must pay to the two ministers will be determined at a separate hearing.

Judge Ngo also ordered Mr. Lee Hsien Yang to refrain from further dissemination of allegations that the two ministers had acted "corruptly," according to AFP.

Previously, The Straits Times reported on July 30 that two Singaporean officials, Minister of Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, said they would sue Mr. Lee Hsien Yang for defamation if he did not apologize for making false accusations.

From left, Mr. Lee Hsien Yang, Singapore's Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan

Screenshot of The Straits Times

"Mr Lee Hsien Yang has accused us of engaging in corrupt and self-serving activities by allowing the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to illegally cut down trees in exchange for incentives, as well as allowing SLA to fund the renovation of [two houses] at 26 and 31 Ridout Road. These allegations are false," Mr Shanmugam said.

Minister Shanmugam said they had asked Mr Lee to withdraw the allegations and pay damages, which would be donated to charity. "If he does not do so, we will sue," Mr Shanmugam said.

On 25 July, Mr Lee Hsien Yang was asked to correct a Facebook post he made on 23 July, which contained comments about Ridout Road. He was issued a correction under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma), Singapore’s law to control fake news.

In his first comments since being threatened with legal action by the two ministers, Mr Lee Hsien Yang said he was simply stating the facts reported by the media, according to The Straits Times on Thursday. 30.7.

According to CNA, Mr. Lee Hsien Yang and his wife are currently living abroad. The couple left Singapore after being investigated by the police for perjury during the proceedings. Mr. Lee Hsien Yang was also accused of lying in judicial proceedings about the will of his father, the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

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