Lee Hsien Yang pays Shanmugam, Vivian over $600k for defamation

His Facebook post accused them of getting preferential treatment in renting bungalows

- Tham Yuen-C

Mr Lee Hsien Yang has paid Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan more than $600,000 for defaming them in a social media post about their rental of two black-and-white bungalows in Ridout Road.

The payment comes after he was taken to court by the two ministers in August 2023.

He had accused them in a July 23, 2023 Facebook post of getting the Singapore Land Authority to grant them preferential treatment, including cutting down trees and funding renovations on the two state-owned properties.

On Sept 29, Mr Lee, who is the youngest child of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and brother of Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, wrote on Facebook that he had paid the ministers a total of $619,335.53 over the defamatory statements.

He noted that the amount was "equivalent to 13.6 months rental for the two Ridout houses", and added that it was unfortunate the ministers did not pursue the case in the English courts.

He also said the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew's family home at 38 Oxley Road is his "significant asset" in Singapore. Mr Lee Hsien Yang said he paid the ministers "in order to try to honour my father's wishes in connection with his home and to allow Wei Ling, who is ill, to continue to stay at 38 Oxley Road". He was referring to his sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling.