Singapore ministers files defamation suits against media company Bloomberg, reporter

Singapore: Two Singapore ministers have filed defamation suits against media company Bloomberg and one of its journalists over a story related to rental of a state-owned bungalow, a media report said on Wednesday.

The case filed by Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng against Bloomberg and reporter Low De Wei will be heard in the Supreme Court on March 3.

The case comes two months after Shanmugam and Tan said they will act against Bloomberg and other media outlets for publishing statements concerning their property transactions, which the ministers consider libellous.

The statements were produced in a December 12 Bloomberg article on good class bungalow (GCB) transactions in Singapore with the headline, “Singapore mansion deals are increasingly shrouded in secrecy.” The article focused on GCB deals inked from January to early December 2024.

In identical Facebook posts on December 16, the ministers said Bloomberg’s article is libellous and announced to take action after legal advice.

Correction directions were issued against Bloomberg under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act on December 23, 2024.

The Ministry of Law said the false statements in Bloomberg’s article “attack the transparency of property transactions in Singapore” and “give the impression that Singapore does not have a robust legal framework to require disclosure of information to the Government in GCB transactions,” as reported by The Straits Times.

Bloomberg subsequently put up a correction notice on the article but said it had done so under the threat of sanction.

“Bloomberg respectfully disagrees with it, and reserves its right to appeal and challenge the Correction Direction. We stand by our reporting,” the Singapore daily quoted the media company as saying.

Three other media outlets were also issued similar correction orders for carrying in part or in full the statements published in the Bloomberg piece, according to The Straits Times.