Some of you might have forgotten but the 38 Oxley Road saga was a really big issue.
It put Singapore on the world map (not in the best light, though), showed how sibling relations can break down and landed an editor and a writer in hot soup.
A Brief Flashback
Now, if you’re one of those who has forgotten about the Oxley Road saga for more important issues, like the importance of getting vaccinated, here’s a brief flashback to catch you up.
If not, feel free to jump to the next section.
In Aug 2019, The Online Citizen Chief Editor Terry Xu sent writer Ms Rubaashini Shunmuganathan a link to an article shared by Ho Ching, PM Lee’s wife. Xu told Ms Rubaashini that he “needed some creative writing” and sent her a list of pointers.
Thus, the TOC article, “PM Lee’s wife Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members” was born.
In Nov 2019, PM Lee sued Ms Rubaashini.
When she did not turn up for the trial, it was deemed that she has admitted to all the allegations.
Ms Rubaashini wasn’t the only defendant as PM Lee also sued TOC’s chief editor, Xu.
In his 1 Sep letter to Mr Xu, PM Lee instructed the chief editor to do four things by 4 Sep:
- Remove the article from his website
- Remove the Facebook post
- Publish an apology
- Never publish the same allegations
Xu, however, didn’t comply with these requests, compelling PM Lee to initiate legal proceedings.
To find out more about what happened before, you can check out our comprehensive articles here and here.
Well, fast-forward to Sep 2021 and a verdict has been reached.
PM Lee Awarded $370K in Damages from Defamation Suits Against TOC
On 1 Sep 2021, the High Court awarded S$370,000 in damages to PM Lee.
TOC Chief Editor, Terry Xu, has to pay PM Lee S$210,000: S$160,000 for general damages and S$50,000 for aggravated damages.
TOC writer Ms Rubaashini Shunmuganathan is liable for the remaining S$160,000.
Justice Audrey Lim judged that the article published by TOC was defamatory.
In addition, she is also in agreement that “aggravated damages”, sought by PM Lee’s lawyers, were “warranted” in the case against Xu.
Other than damages, PM Lee had also asked to restrain Xu from publishing or disseminating the allegations.
The injunction was similarly granted.
According to PM Lee’s press secretary, Chang Li Lin, the prime minister will donate the damages to charity, “as usual”.
On a separate note…
You Can Be Sued If You “Share” the Wrong Things on Social Media
By the way, if you’re thinking that you’ll only get into trouble if you write defamatory things, think again.
In the Leong vs Lee defamation case (another case), it was shown that, according to the law of defamation in Singapore, you can get into trouble if you share defamatory content, even if you’re not the writer.
Leong had shared an article on Facebook that falsely claimed that PM Lee was involved in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad Scandal.
He was subsequently fined S$133,000, even though it was not written by him.
Mr Wijaya from Eugene Thuraisingam LLP noted that the law extending to the sharing and republishing of an article, as well as quoting someone in quotation marks, is nothing new.
Both Mr Wijaya and Mr Gary Low, director of dispute resolution from law firm Drew and Napier, echoed that any publication allows a defamatory statement to reach third parties and thus has the potential to lower a person’s standing.
Applying this principle to the realm of social media, all reposts and sharing of defamatory material can potentially lead to a defamation lawsuit, noted Mr Low.
To find out more, you can read this enlightening article here but the moral of the story is this:
Words have power, and as Peter Parker’s uncle always says: With great power comes great responsibility.
So make sure to read the content and not just the headline, or you might just get into trouble too.
Read Also:
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- Everything About the Defamation Lawsuit Between PM Lee & A TOC Writer Based in M’sia
Feature Image: Asatur Yesayants / Shutterstock.com
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