SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A Singapore blogger said on Monday that he raised S $ 133,000 ($ 98,840) through social media crowdfunding to cover damages he was ordered to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a case of defamation opened by the city-state leader.
Lee sued Leong Sze Hian, a financial advisor, after he shared on Facebook an online news article linking the prime minister to a financial scandal at the Malaysian state fund, 1MDB.
Lee’s lawyers said such calls were “false and baseless”. Leong deleted the November 2018 Facebook post three days after sharing it, following a government request.
The Singapore higher court on March 24 ordered him to pay Lee S $ 133,000.
“I am very happy, very grateful,” he told Reuters on Monday.
Leong made the announcement on Facebook on Sunday night, when he posted: “It’s over. All paid. “
As head of a government that has promised zero tolerance for corruption, Lee, 69, is used to seeking to protect his reputation through legal channels.
Leading figures in the Popular Action Party, including Lee’s late father and founder of present-day Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, have already sued foreign media, political opponents and online commentators for defamation.
($ 1 = 1,3456 Singapore dollars)
Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Martin Petty Edition