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Public debate at stake in suit against Ngerng: PM’s press secretary

SINGAPORE — What is at stake in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s defamation suit against blogger Roy Ngerng is not any short-term positive or negative impact on the Government, but the sort of public debate Singapore should have, said Mr Lee’s press secretary in a letter to The Economist.

SINGAPORE — What is at stake in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s defamation suit against blogger Roy Ngerng is not any short-term positive or negative impact on the Government, but the sort of public debate Singapore should have, said Mr Lee’s press secretary in a letter to The Economist.

Ms Chang Li Lin was responding to an article, “A butterfly on a wheel”, published last Friday on the magazine’s blog, Banyan. The writer had commented on Mr Lee’s defamation suit against Mr Ngerng over the blogger’s posts alleging misappropriation of Central Provident Fund monies.

In the letter published online by the magazine yesterday, Ms Chang wrote: “What is at stake is not any short-term positive or negative impact on the Government, but the sort of public debate Singapore should have. When someone makes false and malicious personal allegations that impugn a person’s character or integrity, the victim has the right to vindicate his reputation, whether he is an ordinary citizen or the Prime Minister.

“The Internet should not be exempt from the laws of defamation. It is perfectly possible to have a free and vigorous debate without defaming anyone, as occurs often in Singapore.”

Ms Chang also noted that The Economist article had referred to an “alleged ‘serious libel’” by Mr Ngerng.

“This is not an allegation. Mr Ngerng has publicly admitted (to) accusing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of criminal misappropriation of pension funds, falsely and completely without foundation. After promising to apologise and to remove the post, Mr Ngerng did the opposite; he actively disseminated the libel further. This was a grave and deliberate defamation, whether it occurred online or in the traditional media being immaterial,” she said.

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