The defamation suit against Bloomberg was about protecting their personal integrity, reputations, and the standing of their public offices, said Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Dr Tan See Leng on Tuesday (July 15) night.
In separate Facebook posts after the High Court’s judgement, both ministers also reiterated that they would donate the damages to charity.
Shanmugam, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security, summarised the court’s findings, noting that the conduct of Bloomberg News and its reporter Low Da Wei was grave and warranted aggravated damages.
The article’s allegations, he said, had “directly impugned our personal integrity, character and professional reputation”.
“Apart from our personal reputation, these malicious statements also attacked the standing of the Ministerial office and us as senior public leaders,” the home affairs minister added.
He went on to explain why he decided to bring about the defamation proceedings, despite having to subject himself to public scrutiny and cross-examination in court.
“If irresponsible outlets like Bloomberg get away with publishing lies and falsehoods about public officers, it will set a new norm.
“It will mean that anyone wanting to serve the public will have to face an additional obstacle – that well-funded organisations like Bloomberg will use lies to attack them, put them down and seek to destroy their reputations.”
Shanmugam noted that this had happened in other countries, discouraging capable people from entering public service and ultimately affecting public interest.
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