Singapore Ministers to send letters of demand to Bloomberg, other media outlets over ‘libellous’ statements

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng are taking legal action against Bloomberg and other media outlets for publishing statements concerning their property transactions, which they consider libellous.

The statements were first published in a Dec 12 Bloomberg article on good class bungalow transactions in Singapore with the headline, “Singapore mansion deals are increasingly shrouded in secrecy”. It was subsequently picked up by media outlets such as The Online Citizen and The Edge.

In identical Facebook posts on Dec 16, the ministers said Bloomberg’s article is libellous, and that they will be issuing letters of demand in relation to the article after taking legal advice.

The posts also stated that the ministers will be taking similar action against others who have published libellous statements about those transactions.

“We take a serious view of the allegations,” the ministers added.

When contacted, a Bloomberg spokesperson told The Straits Times it is not commenting on this matter at this time.

The article in question is about good class bungalow deals inked from January to early December, as measured by value.

The finding was derived from data compiled by Bloomberg News and List Sotheby’s International Realty.

The article mentioned property transactions involving the two ministers. – The Straits Times/ANN