K Shanmugam, Tan See Leng sue Bloomberg, reporter for defamation

SINGAPORE: Manpower Minister Tan See Leng and Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam have initiated court proceedings against news organisation Bloomberg and one of its journalists for defamation. 

According to the court website, the cases are fixed for case conferences on Mar 3. 

Bloomberg ran an article, titled “Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy”, which spoke about Good Class Bungalow (GCB) transactions in Singapore, on Dec 12, 2024. The article, written by Mr Low De Wei, mentioned Mr Shanmugam and Dr Tan. 

It became the subject of a Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) correction order, which was issued to several entities in December last year. 

Both ministers considered the piece libellous and indicated on Dec 16 that they would be issuing Letters of Demand to Bloomberg and other outlets that reproduced the article in whole or in part. 

Apart from Bloomberg, correction orders were handed to The Edge Singapore, The Independent Singapore and The Online Citizen. The Edge Singapore, which reproduced the article in full on its website, apologised to the two ministers and removed the article.

The articles by The Independent Singapore and The Online Citizen commented on the original Bloomberg piece. The former removed the article and posted the correction notice on its website and on Facebook, while The Online Citizen posted a correction notice in its story, which remains available. 

Bloomberg has since posted the correction notice on its article and its social media posts but added that it “respectfully disagrees” with the correction direction and reserves its right to appeal and challenge it. The news organisation said that it stands by its reporting.

According to the government’s fact-checking website, Factually, Bloomberg’s false statements “attack the transparency of property transactions in Singapore”.

The article remained on accessible on Bloomberg as of Wednesday afternoon. 

Mr Shanmugam and Dr Tan are represented by a team of lawyers, including Senior Counsel Davinder Singh from his eponymous firm. 

Bloomberg and its journalist are represented by lawyers from RCL Chambers Law Corporation, including Mr Choo Zheng Xi, Mr Chua Shi Jie and Mr Donaven Foo.