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Singapore’s prime minister personally sues critic for sharing article on Facebook

  • Lee Hsien Loong has resorted to legal action against financial adviser Leong Sze Hian after the latter failed to respond to a request for an apology and damages
  • Lee had been ‘gravely injured in his character and reputation’, his lawyers wrote

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Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Photo: Bloomberg
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is suing a vocal critic of his government for defamation for sharing an article on Facebook that suggested he was involved in Malaysia’s multibillion dollar 1MDB financial scandal, according to local media.

He resorted to legal action only after Leong Sze Hian, a financial adviser, failed to comply with a letter sent by the prime minister’s lawyers demanding a public apology and damages over the November 7 post, The Straits Times reported.

A published article claimed Malaysia’s disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak had dealt with Lee to secure Singapore banks’ help in connection with the 1MDB financial scandal. Photo: Bloomberg
A published article claimed Malaysia’s disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak had dealt with Lee to secure Singapore banks’ help in connection with the 1MDB financial scandal. Photo: Bloomberg

The article, published by Malaysian outlet The Coverage, claimed Malaysia’s disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak – facing dozens of criminal charges over his links to the scandal – had dealt with Lee to secure Singapore banks’ help in relation to the 1MDB funds.

Before this legal suit, the Singapore government had already tried to take action against the authors of the original article, describing the allegations as “fake news and libellous”.

“Those allegations are false and baseless and constitute a very serious libel against our client, and disparage and impugn his character, credit and integrity,” Lee’s legal team said in the letter to Leong, according to The Straits Times.

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