Ministers K Shanmugam, Tan See Leng in court to seek damages from TOC’s Terry Xu over article about Good Class Bungalows

The case was then adjourned for Mr Singh to file closing submissions, which will also have to be served to Mr Xu.

WHAT HAPPENED

TOC published an article in December 2024 titled “Bloomberg: Nearly half of 2024 GCB transactions lack public record, raising transparency concerns”.

This was off the back of a Bloomberg article, titled “Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy”, which was published on Dec 12, 2024.

The ministers have also sued Bloomberg and its reporter for defamation, with a trial slated for April.

According to Mr Shanmugam’s affidavit, the offending words in the TOC article include paragraphs stating that Singapore’s exclusive GCB market, increasingly defined by secrecy and the use of trusts, is at the centre of a growing debate over transparency.

The article cites Bloomberg’s reporting that Dr Tan purchased a GCB in Brizay Park in 2023 for S$27.3 million.

It said that this was not Dr Tan’s first foray into the GCB market, adding that the Business Times reported that he acquired a GCB along Peirce Road for nearly S$24 million while serving as managing director and CEO of IHH Healthcare.

The offending words in the article also include paragraphs about a transaction by Mr Shanmugam, where he sold a GCB in Queen Astrid Park for S$88 million.

In another offending paragraph, the article claimed that the “intertwining of political figures with opaque real estate practices underscores the need for stronger safeguards”.

Mr Xu has purportedly refused to remove the offending article from the website.