Photo: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong answering question during the 20th International Conference on the Future of Asia in Tokyo on May 22; AFP / Toru Yamanaka
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, by way of a legal letter, has rejected local blogger Roy Ngerng’s offer of compensation for defamation.
The letter, sent from PM Lee’s lawyer Davinder Singh to Ngerng’s lawyer M. Ravi on May 27, describes the offer as “derisory” and says it “completely disregards the gravity of (Ngerng’s) conduct, the disputed fact that the libel is false and malicious, and (Ngerng’s) calculated and systematic aggravation of the injury and distress to (PM Lee)”, TODAY reports.
Mr. Singh also noted in the letter how the writer behind The Heart Truths had repeated the libel by republishing various defamatory posts and not actually removing an offensive YouTube video as he’d earlier promised, and also how he’d sent emails to local and international media with information on how to continue reading the posts.
The Drew & Napier lawyer has stated that Roy Ngerng “has only himself to blame for losing the opportunity of not having to pay aggravated damages” and calls the blogger’s ‘excuses’ for his behaviour “disingenuous and incredible, as is (his) apology”.
