2 Indian-origin ministers likely to sue Singapore PM's brother for defamation

Singapore, July 28 (IANS) Singapore's Indian-origin ministers K. Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan have sent lawyers’ letters to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's brother, Lee Hsien Yang seeking an apology and damages for defamation.

Yang, who is currently in self-exile overseas, had written posts on Facebook accusing the ministers of corruption over their rental of state-owned colonial bungalows.

Home Affairs and Law Minister Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Balakrishnan had undergone anti-corruption investigations, which found no wrongdoing with their respective leases of the houses, The South China Morning Post reported.

"Lee Hsien Yang has accused us of acting corruptly and for personal gain by having Singapore Land Authority (SLA) give us preferential treatment by illegally felling trees without approval, and also having SLA pay for renovations to 26 and 31 Ridout Road. These allegations are false," the Ministers wrote in their Facebook posts on Thursday.

"We have asked him to apologise, withdraw his allegations and pay damages, which we will donate to charity. If he does not do so, we will sue him," Shanmugam added.

Yang, the younger son of Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, was asked on Tuesday to carry a correction notice on a Facebook post he made last week accusing ministers of graft, The Straits Times reported.

A statement from the Law Ministry said on Tuesday that Yang’s Facebook post had made untrue statements, which included that the State had paid for the renovations to 26 and 31 Ridout Road because the properties were leased by the two ministers, and that trees at the two premises were felled because the properties were leased by them.

The issue of the Ridout Road rentals was debated in Parliament in July, following a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) investigation and a review by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean.

The CPIB said in its report that it did not find any wrongdoing on the part of the two ministers, while Teo’s review found that processes had been followed.

The Straits Times reported Yang and his wife Lee Suet Fern had left Singapore after coming under police investigation for lying during judicial proceedings.

In his Facebook post, Yang had said that “trust in the PAP (People’s Action Party) has been shattered” due to the Ridout Road and other recent episodes, including the arrest of Minister for Transport S. Iswaran as part of a corruption probe.