If the Lee family actually ever lose a court case it would be the death nail in the coffin of authoritarianism in Singapore and an end to the lack of independence of the legislature, judiciary and the executive.
In order to defend themselves against the argument that the judiciary is not independent they should lose one case every two decades just to give themselves 'Plausible deniability'.
SINGAPORE (AP) - Singapore's prime minister and a senior Cabinet minister have won a defamation suit against the opposition Singapore Democratic Party after the group failed to file a defence, the High Court said Thursday.
The judgment came Wednesday in a closed door hearing, according to a court official who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with the High Court's policy.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his father Lee Kuan Yew, a former prime minister and a current senior Cabinet minister, sued the opposition party and its leaders in April for allegedly defaming them in the party's newsletter by linking a scandal at a local charity to the ruling People's Action Party.
The SDP announced in May that it would not be defending itself in the lawsuit, meaning the Lees won by default.
Six of the SDP leaders named in the suit apologised and agreed to pay damages.
The damages to be paid will be decided at a later hearing.
Two other SDP leaders - Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan and his sister, central executive committee member Chee Siok Chin - are still fighting the defamation suit.
No date has been set for that hearing.
The lawsuit said articles in the January issue of the SDP newsletter linked a scandal at the National Kidney Foundation, Singapore's largest charity, to PAP governance.
Ruling party leaders have successfully sued several opposition politicians and journalists for defamation.
The leaders have said such actions are necessary to protect their reputations and clear the public record of false accusations.
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3 comments:
"a closed door hearing, according to a court official who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with the High Court's policy. "
What is the Singaporean High Court's policy on anonymity???? Does this mean that if a court case is controversial or might shed bad light on the PAP they can close doors and not allow any citizens or reporters into the courtroom to report the news? You mean that in Singapore court cases that are not protecting the victim (child molestation cases, rapes of youths and so forth) can be closed to the public because the gov't feels that the public does not need to know?
Oh thank goodness that GANGSTER troublemaker Chee lost, Singapore is now a much better place.....
LKY calls CSJ a liar, fraud, gangster, bully.'fly-by-night' and dishonest ....but it is CSJ /SDP that has defamed LKY not the other way around. Incredible isn't it? Anyway how does Chee defame the leadership? Basically, by asking questions - in the previous elections he asked "WHERE IS THE MONEY?" and was sued for defamation. This time round he is asking all sorts of questions about the NKF affair.
It seems to me that the defamation laws in Singapore are VERY POWERFUL. Why? Because in other countries, say America, it is okay to ask questions. Take this example of a US Semator asking about the Haditha incident:
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said the committee must "ask hard questions such as, 'When did Secretary Rumsfeld learn of the allegations?' and 'What action did he take?'"
In Singapore, she would have been sued for defamation bankrupted for her insinuation. Looks like Singapore's defamation laws are VERY POWERFUL. That is why people don't dare to ask questions because it is dangerous. If Chee had published his article anywhere else other than Singapore nobody could have sued him for defamation and won. Please look up the defamatory NKF article and judge for yourself, in any other country it would have amounted to 'normal' critcism of the govt ....but in Singapore it is defamatory. Singaporeans are lucky to be protected by such powerful defamation laws. Our leaders' reputations are also well protected by these laws. That is how they become so well respected and unquestionably so.
luckysingaporean is so lucky his blog cannot be found.
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