[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s civil lawsuit against opposition politician Leong Sze Hian for defamation is scheduled to begin in High Court on Tuesday morning (October 6).
The high-profile trial is scheduled to last until Friday, before Judge Aedit Abdullah and Lee are questioned by Leong’s lawyer, Lim Tean, early in the trial.
Lee arrived at the Supreme Court amid tight security around 9.40am. M.
At 7 am on Tuesday morning, the 20 tickets for seats in the public gallery were issued. Still, there were a crowd of reporters, cameramen, and onlookers milling around the entrance to the Supreme Court.
Due to safe distancing measures, the number of seats assigned to journalists in the media gallery was also limited. Two ads were for state broadcaster Mediacorp and conglomerate Singapore Press Holdings.
The case revolves around a Facebook post by Leong on November 7, 2018 that contains a link to an article alleging that Lee corruptly used his position as prime minister to help former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to launder billions from the insolvent Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
The Malaysian news site The Coverage article was titled “Breaking News: Singapore Lee Hsien Loong Becomes Key Target in 1MDB Investigation – Najib Signed Multiple Unfair Deals with Hsien Loong in Exchange for Money Laundering.”
Leong’s post was accompanied by a photo of Lee and Najib smiling for a wefie.
The article alleged that Najib “signed several unfair deals with Singapore’s Lee Hsien Loong, such as the construction of the Singapore-Malaysia high-speed train when the country was RM 1 trillion in debt and a water sale agreement well below the price, in exchange for the assistance of Singapore banks in money laundering of the billions of 1MDB. “
At the time of Leong’s Facebook post, criminal charges had already been filed against Najib for breach of trust and money laundering in connection with 1MDB.
The Wall Street Journal had reported, as early as July 2015, that Malaysian investigators investigating 1MDB had tracked down nearly $ 700 million of deposits in what they believed to be Najib’s personal bank accounts. After the Malaysian general election in May 2018, in which Najib was removed from his post as prime minister, the new Malaysian government began investigating him for possible crimes in relation to 1MDB.
Leong removed his post from Facebook three days later, on November 10, 2018, after reading a notice from Infocomm’s Media Development Authority. His post received 22 reactions, 5 comments, and 18 shares.
On November 12, 2018, Lee’s attorney served him a demand letter, alleging defamation and demanding a public apology and compensation.
Leong did not comply and filed his defense documents and a counterclaim against Lee on December 26, 2018, saying that the defamation suit was an abuse of judicial process.
The counterclaim was rejected by the Superior Court in March of last year and the decision was confirmed by the Court of Appeal in September of last year.
Leong, a blogger and financial advisor, participated in this year’s general elections (GE2020) under the banner of Peoples Voice. Lim founded the party in October 2018 and is its general secretary.
Blogger Leong Sze Hian Fails To Reinstate Counterclaim Against Prime Minister Lee
Blogger Leong Sze Hian’s Counterclaim Against Prime Minister Lee’s Defamation Lawsuit Denied
Lee Hsien Yang Donates To Leong Sze Hian’s Defense Against Prime Minister Lee’s Defamation Lawsuit
Blogger Leong Sze Hian Files Defense And Counterclaim In Response To Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s Defamation Lawsuit
