Singapore blogger to pay more than Dh400,000 in libel damages to PM over 17 years

A former government employee was found guilty in November 2014 of defaming Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, after accusing him of misappropriating state pension funds in a blog.

SINGAPORE // An activist blogger, who was ordered to pay $150,000 Singaporean dollars (Dh400,404) in libel damages to Singapore prime pinister Lee Hsien Loong, will make payments in instalments over the next 17 years, his lawyer said Monday.

Roy Ngerng, 34, a former government employee, was found guilty in November 2014 of defaming Mr Lee after accusing him in a blog of misappropriating state pension funds.

Mr Ngerng’s lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam said that under an agreement with the prime minister, his client would pay Sgd$30,000 by Wednesday to cover the costs of an assessment hearing.

He would then fork out $100 a month for the next five years to pay the damages, before the amount increases to $1,000 a month until the amount is paid, which would take 17 years.

No interest will be collected, but should Mr Ngerng default on any payment, he would have to repay the full ammount immediately, said Mr Thuraisingam, who is representing Mr Ngerng for free.

A source familiar with the case said that Mr Ngerng had initially asked to have the remainder waived after paying Sgd$36,000. But this was rejected by the prime minister, who agreed to the payment in instalments.

In a blogpost on Monday, Mr Ngerng asked for donations to help pay off the amount that was dueWednesday, adding that he has been doing freelance photography and is searching for a job.

“I hope to be able to find a job and make use of my work experience and skills,” he wrote. “I miss contributing effectively to make positive change.”

Mr Ngerng’s guilty verdict was the first such ruling in Singapore over an online article.

Singapore has consistently ranked highly in surveys as one of the world’s least-corrupt countries, but rights groups say its leaders have used financially ruinous defamation suits to silence critics and political opponents.

Singaporean leaders maintain that the lawsuits are necessary to protect their reputations from unfounded allegations.

Mr Ngerng initially offered Sgd$5,000 as compensation to Lee, who rejected the amount.

After being sued by the prime minister in 2014, Ngerng was fired from his government hospital job for administrative reasons which he did not contest.

He successfully raised more than Sgd$112,000 through crowdfunding but the cash ran out during his defence.

The local media in Singapore is tightly controlled, leaving bloggers and other online commentators as the strongest critics of the long-ruling People’s Action Party.

* Agence France-Presse