Ministers K Shanmugam & Tan See Leng to issue letters of demand to Bloomberg over report on GCBs

Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam and Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng announced via Facebook posts on Dec. 16 that they will be issuing  "Letters of Demand" over " libellous statements" made in an article published by Bloomberg surrounding alleged property transactions.

Titled "Singapore mansion deals are increasingly shrouded in secrecy", the Bloomberg article was published on Dec. 12.

They said they "take a serious view of the allegations" and have since "taken legal advice".

They added that action will be taken against those who have published "libellous statements about those transactions".

The article had seen some circulation, with The Online Citizen reporting off the article, while The Edge published the Bloomberg article on their website.

About the article

The Bloomberg article discussed recent purported Good Class Bungalow (GCB) transactions in Singapore.

Other than naming the two ministers, the article also named various people and organisations.

The article said the information was compiled by Bloomberg News and List Sotheby’s International Realty.

The article attributed some of the transaction data to "public records" and "local newspapers".

It also discussed property prices, compared legislation between countries, and reproduced comments from "experts" in the real estate and legal industries.

In response to Mothership's queries, a Bloomberg spokesperson said they are not making comment on the matter at this time.

Mothership has reached out to the relevant authorities for comment.

Top image from K Shanmugam/Facebook, Bloomberg/Linkedin & Tan See Leng/Instagram