Key facts
- Bloomberg News and reporter Low De Wei were ordered to pay S$460,000 (US$355,734) in damages.
- The damages were awarded to Singapore ministers K Shanmugam and Tan See Leng.
- The court found an article about property deals defamed the ministers.
- The damages include S$170,000 in general damages and S$60,000 in aggravated damages for each minister.
- Justice Audrey Lim found Bloomberg's conduct in removing the paywall demonstrated malice.
Singaporean ministers K Shanmugam and Tan See Leng have been awarded S$460,000 (US$355,734) in damages from Bloomberg News and reporter Low De Wei after a defamation suit. The court found that an article published in December 2024 concerning property deals involving 'good class bungalows' defamed the ministers.
Justice Audrey Lim ruled that Bloomberg and Low De Wei are jointly liable to pay S$230,000 to each minister, comprising S$170,000 in general damages and S$60,000 in aggravated damages. The judge stated that the article's dominant purpose was to publish a story about the ministers' transactions and found that Bloomberg's conduct in removing the paywall demonstrated malice.
Bloomberg's editor-in-chief John Micklethwait expressed disappointment with the ruling, stating the company stood by its reporter and the story, which it argued was accurate and served an important public interest. The ministers had sued over the article, which mentioned deals involving them and discussed secrecy surrounding expensive property transactions.