Blogger Roy
Ngerng ordered to pay PM Lee S$150,000 in
damages
SINGAPORE: The Supreme Court on Thursday (Dec 17) ordered
blogger Roy Ngerng to pay S$150,000 in damages to Prime Minister
Lee Hsien Loong for defamation. This comprises S$100,000 in general
damages and S$50,000 in aggravated damages.
"While the cases indicate that the damages awarded to Prime
Ministers who have been defamed have been substantial, some in
excess of S$300,000, none of them involved a defendant of modest
standing. The comparatively low standing of the defendant warranted
a substantial reduction," a judgement from Justice Lee Seiu Kin
stated.
The 34-year-old Ngerng, a former healthcare programme
coordinator at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, had written a blogpost in
May 2014 allegedly comparing the Government's usage of CPF monies
to the City Harvest Church leaders' alleged misuse of church funds.
In his blog, he charged that the Government did so via the
Government’s investment arms, Temasek Holdings and GIC.
The blogger was ordered by the court to no longer publish any
assertions that Mr Lee was misappropriating CPF monies. He was also
ordered to pay Mr Lee S$29,000 for legal fees and related expenses
that were borne leading up to the application for the summary
judgment.
ALLEGATIONS "SEVERELY UNDERMINED CREDIBILITY OF
TARGET"
The judge held that
allegations of corrupt and criminal conduct could have severe
repercussions, especially if levelled against the leader of a
country. "In the present case, the allegations that the plaintiff
had criminally misappropriated monies paid by citizens to a
state-administered pension fund was one of the gravest that could
be made against any individual, let alone a head of Government. It
struck at the heart of one’s personal integrity and severely
undermined the credibility of the target, and was a grave
defamation that a fair-minded person would react with indignation,"
the judgement read.
"Public leaders in Singapore hold positions of trust and
confidence and their reputations are vital to their ability to lead
and to be given the mandate to govern", Justice Lee added.
Justice Lee noted that while Ngerng had apologised to Prime
Minister Lee, it could be concluded from articles and emails he
wrote after that he was "not contrite". For instance, he sent
emails regarding the takedown of his blogpost to journalists. He
also published a Letter of Demand sent to him - a move that was
"aggravating" in serving to increase the reach of his defamatory
material and the likelihood of its publication.
NGERNG "NOT CONTRITE" AFTER APOLOGY
The judge also concluded that
the defendant's conduct was "malicious" as Ngerng knew his blogpost
claims were false and injurious to Mr Lee, but still published it.
"It was likely that the defendant had cynically defamed the
plaintiff in order to increase viewership of the blog," the
judgement read. Blog statistics show the article was seen by at
least 37,223 individuals.
However the popularity of Ngerng's blog and his "portrayal of
himself as the voice of truth were not indicative of his standing
amongst Singaporeans". There was "no evidence of his perceived
credibility or the influence he actually wielded," hence his
standing warranted a lower award of damages, said the judge.
Justice Lee illustrated this point by drawing this comparison:
"The words of a dishevelled tramp in a street corner would be far
less capable of causing damage than that of the CEO of a
multi-national company."
In July, Prime Minister Lee himself took the stand for about six
hours for the hearing. His lawyers asked for "a very high award of
damages", citing "malice and continuing attacks" by the blogger on
Mr Lee. The court also heard that Mr Ngerng had offered to settle
the damages for a sum of S$10,000 but this was rejected by PM Lee
as "derisory".
Ngerng had previously argued that the award of “extravagant
damages” sends the signal to other Singaporeans that they will
“have to ‘self-censor and keep their thoughts to themselves’”. But
this is not true, Justice Lee said.
The blogger “has not been prevented from speaking on the
purported mismanagement of the CPF monies, nor has he been
prevented from criticising (Prime Minister Lee) or any other
politician”. In fact, Ngerng has published multiple articles
critical of Government policies, Justice Lee noted.
In response to media queries, the press secretary to Prime
Minister Lee said he accepts the judgement and award of the
court.
Ngerng wrote in a Facebook post that he is discussing next steps
with his lawyer, but added: "I have put the case behind me and am
trying to move on with my life."
- CNA/ly