Singapore court orders Bloomberg, reporter, to pay $356,000 for defaming ministers

Singapore's High Court has ordered Bloomberg News and reporter Low De Wei to pay S$460,000 (approximately $356,000) in damages for defaming two government ministers. The ruling, issued Tuesday, found that a December 2024 article about secrecy in luxury property transactions, which mentioned deals involving Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, was defamatory. Each minister is to receive S$230,000, comprising S$170,000 in general damages and S$60,000 in aggravated damages. Justice Audrey Lim stated the article's "dominant purpose behind the article was to publish a story about the claimants," using a broader narrative as a "cover." Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait expressed disappointment, stating, "We argued at trial that our reporting was accurate and served an important public interest." The judge also cited Bloomberg's decision to remove the paywall on the article after receiving a correction direction as demonstrating malice.