As the world’s highest-paid political leader and head of a government that has promised zero tolerance for corruption, 68-year-old Lee Hsien Loong is no stranger to protecting his legal channels of integrity.
Lee is suing monetary adviser Leong Sze Hian, 66, for a November 2018 Facebook post related to an article about Malaysian news articles The Coverage.
Lee’s lawyers said the article contained “false and baseless” accusations and accused Leong of sharing the message “maliciously” with his client. Leong then deleted the message.
Leong stated that he “simply shared” the article by adding comments or changing the content and rejected accusations that he had published the article maliciously.
The trial is expected to last until the end of the week and Lee is expected to take the stand and be questioned.
Figures from the People’s Action Party, adding Lee’s backward father and Singaporean founder Lee Kuan Yew have in the past sued foreign media, conflicting political parties and online commentators for defamation.
Singapore maintains strict controls on local media and enacted a fake data law last year that critical defendants can simply further erode freedom of expression in the city-state. The government says it curbs valid complaints or limits freedom of expression.
Lee spoke for hours in 2015, answering questions from a blogger he had sued for implicating him in irregularities in controlling Singapore’s mandatory retirement savings plan budget.
In a turn toward this week’s trial, police arrested Leong’s lawyer on Friday for alleged abuse of trust.
The lawyer, Lim Tean, who was released before the trial, said the arrest had political motivations, which police denied.