FEER answers Singapore Defamation Suit

In two 50-page defense statements, The Far Eastern Economic Review has replied to allegations it had defamed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his father, former Premier Lee Kuan Yew, in an interview the magazine carried last August with Singapore opposition politician Chee Soon Juan. The defense statements are here.

The statements, filed late on Friday, argue that no defamation exists because the article and the interview were factual. It also argues that the article was written in the public interest and that as a political figure Chee was qualified to comment on public affairs in the island republic.

Singapore’s leaders, who have filed numerous libel suits against foreign media group and opposition politicians, have yet to lose a case in Singapore’s courts. Among those they have sued or taken other action against are the Economist, the International Herald Tribune, Bloomberg, the Asian Wall Street Journal and FEER.

Defense statements:

DefenceLKY.pdf

DefenceLHL.pdf