Lee had his case thrown out of the Ontario Superior Court of
Justice when he tried to sue Devan Nair for defamation due to
articles printed in Globe and Mail. He must have suffered a
humiliating defeat at the hands of an impartial justice system.
Ontario Supreme Court
Lee v. Globe and Mail,
Date: 2001-01-30
Lee
and
The Globe and Mail et
al.
Superior Court of Justice,
Swinton J. January 30, 2001
Howard W. Winkler and Odette S. Soriano, for plaintiff/moving
party.
Patricia D.S. Jackson and Peter R. Balasubramaniam, for
defendants/responding parties The Globe and Mail, Thomson Canada
Limited, William Thorsell, Margaret Wente and Marcus Gee.
Sean Dewart, for defendant Nair.
[1] SWINTON J.:—The plaintiff, Lee Kuan Yew, has brought a
motion to strike paras. 6(p), 6(q) and 7 of the Statement of
Defence of The Globe and Mail, Thomson Canada Limited,
William Thorsell, Margaret Wente and Marcus Gee (the “Thomson
defendants”) in this libel action.
[2] The action was brought as a result of an article which
appeared in The Globe and Mail on March 29, 1999,
reporting an interview with the defendant Devan Nair, who was the
President of the Republic of Singapore from October 1981 to March
1985. The plaintiff Lee Kuan Yew was the Prime Minister of the
Republic of Singapore from August 1965 to November 1990, and he is
now the Senior Minister for the Republic of Singapore. According to
the article, Mr. Nair, now a resident of Canada, decided to
break his silence and to speak out on the continuing suppression of
legitimate dissent in Singapore, drawing on his personal
experience.
[3] In the course of the interview, Mr. Nair made certain
statements which are alleged to be defamatory. Paragraphs 8 and 9
of the Statement of Claim are important to the determination of
this motion:
8. On or about the 29th day of March, 1999 the Defendants
falsely and maliciously published the following words on page A12
of The Globe in an article entitled Singapore Sage, which are
defamatory of the Plaintiff personally and in the way of his
profession as a politician:
Singapore Sage
(1) Then, in 1985 came a shocking break. Mr. Lee told
Singapore’s parliament that Mr. Nair had resigned because he
was an alcoholic, a charge Mr. Nair now calls a baseless
slur.
(2) But before he could speak out, Mr. Nair found himself
at the centre of a rumour‑mongering campaign that labelled him a
drinker and a womanizer. He says he was neither, and he suspects
that Mr. Lee had government doctors slip him hallucinatory
drugs to make him appear befuddled. “Lee Kuan Yew decided: This man
is going to be a threat, so I’d better begin a total demolishment
of his character. He’s very good at that.”
9. The Plaintiff pleads that the words in their natural and
ordinary meaning meant and were understood to mean the
following:
(1) The plaintiff, as the Prime Minister of Singapore, invented
false allegations that Mr. Nair was an alcoholic for the
purpose of destroying Mr. Nair’s good character;
(2) The Plaintiff, as the Prime Minister of Singapore,
invented false allegations concerning alcohol for the purpose of
destroying Mr. Nair’s good character;
(3) The Plaintiff, as the Prime Minister of Singapore, invented
false allegations that Mr. Nair was a womanizer for the
purpose of destroying Mr. Nair’s good character;
(4) The Plaintiff, as the Prime Minister of Singapore,
maliciously directed government doctors to slip Mr. Nair
hallucinatory drugs in order to make him appear to be befuddled as
part of a scheme to destroy his good character.
[4] Mr. Nair has yet to file a Statement of Defence.
However, in their Statement of Defence, the Thomson defendants have
pleaded the defences of justification, fair comment and qualified
privilege.
...............................................................
Conclusion
[23] For these reasons, the motion is dismissed. If the parties
wish to make submissions with respect to costs, they may do so in
writing or make an appointment with my secretary.
Motion dismissed.
http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2001/2001canlii28035/2001canlii28035.html
The despot sells his propaganda and
his
dogs repeat them but only silliporeans believe
anything they say.
They are not subjected to his
"social engineering" in Canada. To
them he is no better than TT Durai for taking such massive amounts
of public money for his own pocket.
![[Lee Kuan Yew]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/HC-GH018_Kuan_Y_20051108133649.gif)