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SINGAPORE – Blogger Leong Sze Hian has lost an appeal to make a counterclaim in a libel suit brought against him by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Mr Leong had filed a defence and countersuit against PM Lee last year, arguing that the Prime Minister’s defamation suit against him is an abuse of the process of the court.
But the Court of Appeal, comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Judges of Appeal Andrew Phang and Judith Prakash, threw out Mr Leong’s suit on Friday afternoon (Sept 27). The apex court also ordered Mr Leong to pay $20,000 in costs.
“I am struggling to get my head around the concept that a party can defame somebody, and the law should recognise as a course of action that the person, having been defamed, when trying to vindicate their reputation, can be sued for doing that,” said Chief Justice Menon in dismissing the claim.
PM Lee had initiated legal action against Mr Leong in December, after Mr Leong shared on Facebook part of the headline of an article from Malaysian news portal The Coverage, with a link to the full article.
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