Four hours and 15 minutes - that's the length of time Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spent with lawyer Lim Tean on day one of the four-day trial for his defamation suit against blogger and financial adviser Leong Sze Hian.
The colourful but nonetheless lengthy exchange saw Lim, Leong's lawyer, cross-examine PM Lee, who took the stand as witness.
PM Lee is represented by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh from Davinder Singh Chambers.
The mood was palpable at the beginning of the hearing, with supporters clapping for Leong and Lim before they entered the courtroom.
For the first half of the hearing before the court was adjourned, PM Lee appeared to be calm and brief with his replies, with Lim's repeated questions on the same issue.
It was only in the second half of the hearing that PM Lee spoke at length in response to Lim's cross-examination, sharing his thoughts on Leong and his rationale behind the lawsuit in greater detail.
On not taking action against Alex Tan and States Times Review
Lim, on multiple occasions, questioned why PM Lee was targeting his client Leong specifically and whether he had thought about taking action against the States Times Review (STR) and its editor Alex Tan, which carried an almost similar offending article, or The Coverage, from which Leong had shared the article.
The article had contained allegations that PM Lee helped former Malaysia prime minister Najib Razak launder money in relation to Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
In response, PM Lee repeatedly replied that he had discussed the issue with his lawyer, and the current course of action was the decision.
When Lim asked if PM Lee allowed the perpetrators to get away "scot-free", PM Lee replied that they were "beyond our reach" and outside jurisdiction.
He also stated that the defamation within the STR article, along with The Coverage republishing and sharing of the article by Leong and others constituted a “very grave attack” on the integrity and reputation of the government, as well as his own integrity and reputation as prime minister.
Lim’s question also drew Davinder’s objection of litigation privilege, where PM Lee is not required to share in detail what was discussed with his lawyer.
Lim responded to this by stating that he was not delving into legal privilege or the intricacies of their conversation.
Leong "a thorn in our side in a small way"
Continuing to question why his client was seemingly singled out for the court case, Lim asked why PM Lee had not decided to sue Tan Kin Lian, the former presidential candidate who had also shared the article in question.
PM Lee mentioned that this "shows that the consideration is legal and not whether a person is a presidential candidate".
He continued that Leong "has been a thorn in our side in a small way for a long time”.
He mentioned that Leong had been a critic on multiple government financial matters, such as CPF and GIC, adding that Leong was entitled to do so.
PM Lee then stated that the answer to addressing government critics was to put them to the test at the ballot.
He added that "indeed it was put to a test in the recent GE. You and the defendant stood in a GRC and won 35 per cent of the vote. That’s your answer”.
Lim is the leader of opposition party People’s Voice (PV). Under the party, Leong and Lim had contested in Jalan Besar GRC during the 2020 General Election.
PM Lee said that a legal case is not the way to address political criticisms of the government.
PM Lee added, "when a person defames me, I have to think carefully about what to do and what my legal options are”.
On this point, the prime minister elaborated that it did not matter how many articles the person in question had published or whether the person was even favourably disposed to the government.
PM Lee: "Your honour, he flatters his client"
Lim then proceeded to claim that PM Lee was “picking on the defendant because he is a staunch government critic”, to which PM Lee denied.
“Your client is far from the most vocal, sharp or effective critic. There are others who are far more vocal, effective or sharp whom we have not sued”, PM Lee said.
"You were trying to strike fear in Singaporeans," Lim said.
PM Lee responded: "Your Honour, he flatters his client. I totally deny it."
Removal does not expunge defamation
On why action was still taken against Leong after he had complied with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)’s notice, PM Lee argued that the removal of the Facebook post from Leong’s page “does not expunge the defamation”.
The prime minister, now with a visible shift in his tone, emphasised that Leong has not apologised, and the post had continued to be circulated and be seen.
In fact, PM Lee pointed out that Leong was unclear in his public statements on whether he had apologised.
Here, PM Lee elaborated that while Leong said that he had apologised after he was issued a notice by the IMDA, Leong did not reveal when he made this apology.
Later, Leong claimed in an interview with the Sarawak Report that he had done so, PM Lee added.
When Lim said that Leong had stated that he did not tell the Sarawak Report that he had apologised, PM Lee replied that Leong did not correct the Sarawak Report.
The Sarawak Report updated its article, noting that the Ministry of Communications and Information has denied to Sarawak Report that it received such an apology from Leong.
The right to protect one's own integrity
Lim then told Justice Aedit Abdullah that the defence consisted of the following two positions.
"The first thing is that we say the government had taken sufficient action to debunk these false allegations, and there was no need to bring these proceedings...
... the second relevance is that this action is really an attempt to protect the integrity of the government, the reputation of the government and not a genuine liable action for the plaintiff to recover his reputation..."
This brought up Lim's charge that PM Lee was essentially "riding two horses" as the head of government and as a private citizen.
In response, PM Lee stated that he did not accept what Lim stated as he had a responsibility as prime minister to protect the integrity of the government, and the right as private citizen to protect his own reputation.
He elaborated, "Each time a question mark is raised without the proper response and I don’t clear my name, each time the damage is done in a small way."
This eventually has a cumulative effect where people start to doubt and that is how ridicule and contempt are introduced, he added.
Goh Chok Tong's statements on suing
On the topic of pursuing a case, Lim referenced Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who spoke on two separate occasions on why a minister has to sue.
The two sources of reference were firstly Goh's comments to Asiaweek in 1999, and then his statement during a Parliament debate on the 38 Oxley Road saga in 2017.
Goh had said in the latter:
"My view remains that when a minister thinks that an allegation made against him is without basis, he has to sue. PM has explained in his speech why he would prefer not to sue. I can well understand his dilemma. Being the eldest in the family, he must harbour hopes of reconciliation, however remote it seems now, even at a cost to his own political standing. Indeed, I have urged him as well as Lee Hsien Yang to sort out their differences, misunderstanding, and reconcile. It is surely not worth the feud being passed on to the next generation.
Given the immediacy of the issue, I commend PM for his courage in opening himself and his Ministers to scrutiny in Parliament.”
PM Lee told Lim that he agreed with what Goh had mentioned, in response to the opposing lawyer’s question.
Adjourned at about 3.40pm
Court was adjourned for the day at around 3:40pm, and PM Lee was released from the witness stand.
The hearing continues on Oct. 7, with Phan Tuan Quang, the Associate Professor of Innovation and Information Management at the University of Hong Kong expected to take the stand.
He was referenced as an expert witness in PM Lee's opening statements, and will testify on the impact of the Facebook post and article in question.
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Top left photo by Guan Zhen Tan, right photo from PM Lee's Facebook