Summary & updates on rental of Ridout Road properties by 2 ministers

This article will be updated regularly.

Kerr Puay Hian| Martino Tan| May 23, 2023, 06:02 PM

This is a summary of the news related to the rental of Ridout Road properties by K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Law, and Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Latest updates:

May 23, 2023, 5pm: Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong announced that Senior Minister (SM) and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean will conduct a review expeditiously and make the findings public in time for the parliamentary sitting in July.

May 23, 2023, 5:54pm: At a doorstop in the Ministry of Communications and Information’s building, Vivian said, “I’m very glad PM Lee agreed to have a review”.

@mothershipsg Vivian Balakrishnan’s response after PM Lee announced SM Teo will conduct a review on the rental of Ridout properties. #sgnews #ridout ♬ original sound - Mothership.sg

May 23, 2023, 7pm: Shanmugam told the media at Chong Pang that he has “nothing to hide”, calling the allegations "outrageous". He spoke with PM Lee and suggested an independent review as "serious allegations have been made".

@mothershipsg “I have nothing to hide,” Shanmugam on Ridout property. #sgnews #ridout #shanmugam ♬ original sound - Mothership.sg

Timeline:

Early May 2023: Opposition politician Kenneth Jeyaretnam published social media posts about the Ridout Road properties.

May 12, 2023: Singapore Land Authority (SLA) issued a statement providing the timeline and the circumstances of how Shanmugam and Vivian rented the properties.

May 18, 2023: Workers' Party's Pritam Singh, also the Leader of Opposition, and a few People's Action Party's MPs filed parliamentary questions on Ridout Road for the next parliament sitting, expected in July 2023.

May 23, 2023, 5pm: PM Lee has asked Teo to conduct a review expeditiously. PM Lee also shared that Shanmugam and Vivian had spoken to him to request for a review independent of the ministries and agencies they supervise.

May 23, 2023, 5:54pm: At a doorstop in the Ministry of Communications and Information’s building, Vivian said, “I’m very glad PM Lee agreed to have a review”.

May 23, 2023, 7pm: Shanmugam told the media at Chong Pang that he has “nothing to hide”, calling the allegations "outrageous". He spoke with PM Lee and suggested an independent review as "serious allegations have been made".

Top image via Mothership