A Singapore High Court has ruled that Bloomberg and its reporter Low De Wei must pay S$460,000 (US$356,000) to Ministers K Shanmugam and Tan See Leng over a 2024 article on luxury property deals.

The piece, titled "Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy," examined how wealthy buyers use shell companies and non-caveated transactions to obscure ownership of high-end Good Class Bungalows. It cited Shanmugam’s S$88 million sale of a bungalow via a trust and Tan’s S$27 million purchase as examples amid broader concerns about transparency and potential money laundering.

The ministers argued the article wrongly linked their legitimate deals to illicit practices, damaging their reputations. High Court Judge Audrey Lim agreed, finding that the article’s natural meaning implied the ministers exploited regulations to avoid scrutiny, including possible money laundering assertions that “directly impugn [their] personal integrity.”

Bloomberg removed the article as ordered. In a statement, Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait expressed disappointment but said the outlet respects the ruling, maintaining the story was accurate and in the public interest.

According to BBC Inside, Singapore’s leaders have a long track record of successfully pursuing defamation cases against critics and international media, which the government says protects reputations but opponents view as a tool to limit dissent.

The case also involved a POFMA correction notice, under which Bloomberg was compelled to publish a government-mandated note while standing by its reporting. Similar notices hit other outlets that covered the story. The ministers separately won a defamation suit against a local online editor over related commentary.

BOB Post