Singapore court orders Bloomberg to pay ministers $356,000 in defamation case
A Singapore high court has ordered Bloomberg News and a reporter to pay damages to two government ministers over an article about luxury bungalow deals
Bloomberg News and one of its reporters, Low De Wei, have been ordered by Singapore's high court to pay S$460,000 (US$355,734) in damages. The judgment, released on Tuesday, found that an article published by the outlet defamed two Singapore government ministers. The ministers had claimed the piece, which cited their luxury bungalow deals, tarnished their reputations.[1][2]
Under the court's ruling, Bloomberg and Low are jointly liable to pay S$230,000 to each of the two ministers. This total per minister consists of S$170,000 in general damages and S$60,000 in aggravated damages.[2]
Bloomberg's editor-in-chief, John Micklethwait, has stood by the outlet's reporting. Micklethwait stated that the ministers who filed the lawsuit had imposed an extremely strained meaning on what was otherwise a solid story.[2]
