SINGAPORE – The chief editor and publisher of The Online Citizen (TOC) have been ordered by the High Court to pay $125,000 in damages to UOB for defamation.
UOB had filed a suit on April 3, 2025, against Mr Terry Xu, who is based in Taiwan, and Miao Yi Infotech, a company in Taiwan that publishes TOC.
The defamation centred on the bank’s dealings with its customer, Yang Kee Logistics, and the firm’s former chief executive, Mr Koh Kien Chon, who is also known as Ken.
TOC had published a series of articles and social media posts in March 2025 which alleged that
UOB had coerced Yang Kee into making various transactions
that ultimately caused the firm’s downfall.
UOB had sought $150,000 in damages for the “false and baseless” allegations, saying that it intended to donate to charity whatever it can recover from the defendants.
Mr Xu and Miao Yi chose not to participate in the court proceedings.
The amount of $125,000 awarded is understood to be the highest reported award of general damages to a corporate claimant for defamation in Singapore.
The only other case in Singapore involving a corporate claimant of equivalent standing was one in 1994 where OCBC was awarded $50,000.
In written grounds issued on March 4, Assistant Registrar Vikram Rajaram said the defamatory publications “struck at the core attributes essential to a banking institution’s reputation and were disseminated widely through online platforms”.
On March 27, 2025, TOC published an article on its website with the headline “Ex-CEO accuses UOB of coercion, threats, and S$500M corporate raid”.
