Roy Ngerng, the blogger and activist who was sued by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, confirmed that his payment of S$143,000 was received by PM Lee's lawyer.
In a Facebook post on May 4, Ngerng said this "should be the end" of the defamation suit and the outstanding damages that he owed to PM Lee.
Ngerng added he will announce how the excess funds will be used in another update, but added that he was inclined to donate to Leong Sze Hian and Terry Xu, two other men who have been sued by PM Lee.
Ngerng added:
"Meanwhile, thank you to all of you for making what we thought was impossible POSSIBLE! You have proven that unity is strength, and that our voice can reach the highest power of the land in the most direct way.
You have used each and every cent and dollar to directly send a message to Hsien Loong that you disagree with his behavior (sic). This is what he will see when he sees the S$143,000 in his bank account!"
Earlier on May 3, Ngerng outlined in another Facebook post how he paid off the sum:
"The judge ruled that I had to pay Hsien Loong S$150,000 for the defamation suit he launched against me.
Over the last 5 years, I have paid him S$100 each (month), for a total of S$6,000. From April 2021 (last month), I would have had to start paying him S$1,000 a month.
However, thanks to you, I was able to raise the balance of S$144,000. At the start of the crowdfunding, I had already paid him the first S$1,000 installment (sic) from the crowdsourced funds. Today, I've paid the rest of the S$143,000."
Ngerng thanked his lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam and repeated some claims about the Central Provident Fund (CPF). He added that he felt "vindicated" after seven years and that he has hope for Singapore.
Top image from Roy Ngerng's Instagram page.