SINGAPORE: The High Court on Monday (May 11) ordered The Online Citizen’s (TOC’s) editor, Mr Terry Xu, to pay over S$154,000 (US$121,000) in costs and disbursements to two ministers for a defamation case.
This is on top of the S$420,000 Mr Xu has to pay Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng in total for defaming them in an article about transactions they made involving Good Class Bungalows (GCBs).
The figure of over S$154,000 comprises S$78,000 in costs and more than S$76,000 in disbursements.
Costs refer to expenses such as the lawyers’ professional fees, while disbursements refer to out-of-pocket expenses incurred by a law firm on behalf of a client in dealing with a case, such as printing or filing fees.
The ministers’ lawyer, Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, on Monday told the court that his firm had sent emails to Mr Xu on submissions on costs and information on the court hearing.
Mr Xu, who relocated to Taiwan after being sentenced separately for criminally defaming Cabinet members, did not attend the hearing.
