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On Mar. 28, the long-running Soh Rui Yong-Ashley Liew saga seemed to be coming to an end, when Soh's appeal against the decision to award his former teammate Ashley Liew S$180,000 in damages in a defamation suit was dismissed.
However, it appears that we have not heard the end of the situation. On Tuesday (Apr. 5), Soh took to Facebook to issue an "open challenge" to his former teammate to "prove [his] sportsmanship".
Donate S$180,000 in damages to Singapore sports
In his Facebook post and an accompanying blog post, Soh challenged Liew to donate the S$180,000 he had received in damages from Soh to Singapore sports.
Soh said that he had paid a total of around S$320,000 to Ashley Liew — S$180,000 in damages and S$140,000 in legal costs.
He then challenged Liew — who had been awarded two awards for sportsmanship for his actions during the 2015 SEA Games marathon — to "prove how much sportsmanship you really have".
"A lot of the money I have transferred to you are donations from the public. Give back to Singapore, and Singapore sports," Soh wrote.
He suggested that Liew use the S$180,000 to create a fund or scholarship benefitting the athletes of Singapore.
"Doing a good deed like this will provide everyone with a nice closure to move on from this unfortunate episode."
Soh closed his post by writing:
"Whatever you choose to do, I wish you all the best for the future."
Background
The dispute between Liew and Soh began in June 2019, after Liew filed a defamation claim against Soh.
Soh had posted five statements — in the form of two blog posts, two Facebook posts, and one Facebook comment — disputing an act of fair play by Liew.
Liew had said that during the 2015 SEA Games, he had slowed down to allow other runners to catch up after they missed a U-turn during the race and took the wrong path.
Liew ended up in eighth place while Soh won the race.
Liew later received two awards for his sportsmanship — the Special Award for Sportsmanship by the Singapore National Olympic Council and the Pierre de Coubertin World Fair Play Trophy — and was praised by Cabinet ministers.
Soh's social media posts alleged that Liew's account of events was untrue.
Initial trial
In September 2021, the District Court ruled in Liew's favour, ordering Soh to pay S$180,000 in damages — including S$120,000 in general damages and S$60,000 in aggravated damages — to Liew.
District Judge Lee Li Choon found Liew's evidence to be "more objective and consistent" than Soh's, The Straits Times reported.
Hours after the verdict, Soh wrote on Facebook that the case was not over and he would be appealing.
Soh then began a crowdfunding campaign for the damages he owed, sharing his PayNow and bank account information in a Facebook post appealing for help.
He said that Liew's lawyers required the S$180,000 to be paid immediately, but he did not have such money on hand.
Appeal
On Mar. 28, the district court's September 2021 decision to order Soh to pay Liew S$180,000 in damages was upheld.
Soh was also ordered to pay an additional S$18,000 in costs for the appeals court hearing, on top of the S$125,000 he had been ordered to pay in February for the district court trial.
According to Today, Justice Valerie Thean upheld Lee's decision to grant Liew's request for an injunction for Soh not to repeat the libellous comments, remove the social media posts and retract the statements he made.
However, Justice Thean ruled that Soh need not make a public apology to Liew on his social media pages.
Soh, who is in London pursuing a law degree, said he respects the court's decision and "will move forward from here", The Straits Times reported.
Soh also confirmed with Mothership that he is moving forward.
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Top photos via Soh Rui Yong.