K Shanmugam & Tan See Leng sue Bloomberg, reporter for defamation over article on GCBs

Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng and Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam have filed defamation lawsuits against Bloomberg and one of its journalists.

An article was run by Bloomberg, back on Dec. 12, 2024, titled "Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy".

The article, written by one Low De Wei, dealt with Good Class Bungalow (GCB) transactions in Singapore. The article also mentioned private properties purchased by Shanmugam and Tan.

According to Factually, the government's fact-checking website, Bloomberg made false statements that "attack the transparency of property transactions in Singapore":

"Together, these falsehoods give the impression that Singapore does not have a robust legal framework to require disclosure of information to the government in GCB transactions, which may allow wrongdoing to take place undetected.

It is in the public interest that these falsehoods are addressed so that public confidence in the government is not undermined."

POFMA orders

The Edge Singapore then reproduced Bloomberg's article in full on its website.

The Independent Singapore and The Online Citizen then published pieces commenting on the original Bloomberg piece.

All four news sites subsequently received Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) correction orders.

The Edge Singapore took down the article and later apologised to Shanmugam and Tan. The Independent Singapore removed its article and posted the correction notice on its website and Facebook.

The Online Citizen posted the correction notice to its story but kept the story available online.

Bloomberg posted the correction notice on its article and its social media posts. Bloomberg, however, stated that it disagrees with the correction direction, writing:

Under Singapore’s Prevention of Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act, Bloomberg is required under threat of sanction to publish this Correction Direction. Bloomberg respectfully disagrees with it, and reserves its right to appeal and challenge the Correction Direction. We stand by our reporting.

The article is still up on Bloomberg's website as of Feb. 26, 2025.

Case conferences scheduled

According to the court website, case conferences are scheduled on Mar. 3.

Shanmugam and Tan are represented by several lawyers including Davinder Singh.

Bloomberg and its journalist are represented by lawyers from RCL Chambers Law Corporation.

Top photo from MDDI/YouTube & K Shanmugam/Facebook.