Lead
Singapore's High Court has ordered Bloomberg News and one of its reporters to pay S$460,000 (US$355,734) in damages after an article was found to have defamed two government ministers, according to a judgment released on Tuesday. The ruling, reported by The Guardian and the Jerusalem Post, marks a significant legal setback for the news organization in the city-state.
The damages are to be paid jointly by Bloomberg and reporter Low De Wei, with each of the two ministers—Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng—receiving S$230,000. This amount consists of S$170,000 in general damages and S$60,000 in aggravated damages, as detailed in the judgment.
Coverage Comparison
Both The Guardian and the Jerusalem Post reported the story with a neutral focus on the court's decision, emphasizing the financial penalty imposed on Bloomberg. The two outlets provided consistent details about the case, including the amount of damages, the ministers involved, and the judge's reasoning. Their coverage also highlighted Bloomberg's defense and the editor-in-chief's response, presenting a balanced view of the proceedings.
The articles attributed the ruling to Justice Audrey Lim, who found that the article's dominant purpose was to publish a story about the claimants' property transactions, rather than a general report on transparency in luxury property deals.
Key Claims
The legal dispute stems from an article published in December 2024 that discussed secrecy surrounding expensive property transactions, specifically involving "good class bungalows," a prized type of property in Singapore. The article mentioned deals involving Shanmugam and Tan See Leng, prompting the ministers to sue for defamation.
Bloomberg defended the story as reporting on trends in luxury property transactions, arguing that both ministers were newsworthy examples of such deals. The news organization told the court that the article did not allege wrongdoing by the ministers.
However, in her judgment, Justice Audrey Lim rejected this defense. She wrote: "The dominant purpose behind the article was to publish a story about the claimants, in particular about their [good class bungalow] transactions. The broader narrative of how wealthy individuals in Singapore use non-caveated transactions and trust structures to keep their dealings secret or 'off-radar' was the cover devised to carry that story."
The judge found that Low De Wei, the article's author, was reckless and false in describing the opacity of local government records. This finding was a key factor in the court's decision to award aggravated damages.
Bloomberg's Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait expressed disappointment with the ruling and reaffirmed the company's support for its reporter and newsroom. "We argued at trial that our reporting was accurate and served an important public interest, and we continue to believe that the ministers have imposed an extremely strained meaning on what was a solid story," he told Reuters in an email. Micklethwait did not say whether Bloomberg planned to appeal.
The law firm representing the ministers did not immediately respond to a request for comment, as reported by both outlets.