No need to order piza if you only listen to P.A.Pak's
recommended Canadian Broadcasting Corp interview via Windows
Media.
If you want to read, try digesting the following
piece with your piza - it confirms the manner in which the SG
Political Leaders suppress dissenting views.
Editor 'defamed' Singapore
leader
Singapore's High Court has ruled that the Far
Eastern Economic Review (FEER) magazine defamed Singapore's
leaders.
It ruled that the editor, Hugo Restall, also defamed Singapore's
founding father Lee Kuan Yew and his son, current Prime Minister
Lee Hsein Loong.
The case was about an article in FEER in 2006, based on an
interview with Singapore politician Chee Soon Juan.
The Singapore government has frequently resorted to its own
courts to protect its reputation. <!-- E SF -->
Singapore state media reported that Justice Woo Bih Li had
reached his conclusion of defamation by summary judgement, as
requested by the Lees.
In such a judgement, the court makes a ruling without the case
going to trial, as it agrees with the applicant that the defence
arguments are baseless, the Straits Times newspaper added.
Damages are to be assessed later. FEER has a month in which to
lodge an appeal.
The Straits Times reported that lawyers for the Lees had said
the article at the centre of the case was "calculated to disparage
both leaders by suggesting they were corrupt and unfit for office,
and would sue and suppress those who questioned them as the
questions would expose their corruption".
The article which had aroused the Lees' anger was entitled
Singapore's 'Martyr,' Chee Soon Juan. It described the Singapore
Democratic Party secretary general's battle against the ruling
People's Action Party and its leaders.
FEER had argued that the article was based on facts and fair
comment, concerned matters of public interest and was a neutral
report.
But Justice Woo said FEER's defences failed or did not apply in
Singapore, the Straits Times said.
He said there was no doubt the defamatory words in the article
referred to the two Singapore leaders, and that other references
that linked the government to Singapore's National Kidney
Foundation (NKF) and its disgraced director TT Durai amounted to
"defamation by implication".
Justice Woo found the article to mean that Lee Kuan Yew "has
been running and continues to run Singapore in the same corrupt
manner as Durai operated NKF and he has been using libel actions to
suppress those who would question to avoid exposure of his
corruption", the newspaper reported.
He also found the article to mean that Prime Minister Lee "is
unfit for office because he is corrupt and he too has set out to
sue and suppress those who question him to cover up his
corruption".
Not 'neutral'
Justice Woo rejected FEER's argument that the article
constituted fair comment, saying the words in question were
allegations of facts and not comments.
FEER's argument that Dr Chee was entitled to respond to
allegations made against him by the Lees, was also rejected, as
Justice Woo found the defamatory words went beyond such a
response.
The allegation of corruption against the Lees was "plainly an
example of someone going beyond defence and proceeding to offence",
he was reported to have said by the Straits Times.
Singaporean leaders have won hundreds of thousands of dollars in
damages in defamation cases against critics and foreign
publications, which they have said are necessary to protect their
reputations from unfounded attacks.
Singapore has also banned several foreign publications from
distributing their products in Singapore, and has required those
that do distribute there to promise to abide by stringent media
rules.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7632830.stm
