The Online Citizen ( TOC), the website’s chief editor, Terry Xu, is waging a public campaign to win Singaporeans ‘ support, according to the lawsuit filed by Xu against him by Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng.  ,
According to documents obtained by CNA on Friday ( Mar 28 ), the ministers filed lawsuits against Mr. Xu on January 6 this year and have since been granted permission to serve court papers on him in Taiwan.  ,
The slander claims relate to a TOC content titled” Bloomberg: Almost half of 2024 GCB deals lack public record, raising concerns about accountability.” The article makes a comment on a Bloomberg content that the officials have also filed libel lawsuits against.  ,
The article from Bloomberg,” Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy,” was published on December 12, 2024, and discusses Good Class Bungalow ( GCB) transactions in Singapore. Both officials have filed a lawsuit against Bloomberg and Low De Wei, the reporter, for slander.  ,
The article from TOC, which referenced and commented on Bloomberg’s content, was also published on December 12, 2024, and is still available as of Friday night.
Dr. Tan and Mr. Shanmugam are both represented by the same Davinder Singh Chambers legitimate group: Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, Mr. David Fong, Ms. Sambhavi Rajangam, and Mr. Adam Lau.  ,
This is not Mr. Xu’s second instance of a secretary bringing legal action.  ,
He was recently sued by then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong over another TOC post about Dr. Lee Wei Ling and Mr. Lee Hsien Yang’s disagreement with their family residence at 38 Oxley Road.
In September 2021, Mr. Xu was ordered to pay Mr. Lee S$ 210, 000 in damages after losing that libel lawsuit while still residing in Singapore.  ,
In addition, a district judge in April 2022 sentenced Mr. Xu to three months in prison for defaming Cabinet people. Upon appeal, the sentence was changed to an S$ 8, 000 ( US$ 6, 000 ) fine in May 2023.  ,
However, by that point, Mr. Xu had already completed his three-week prison name and had relocated to Taiwan, where he is still writing articles for TOC.
XU CAN REACH US IN TAIWAN
The two ministers went into great detail about reaching Xu in Taiwan in addition to filing their promises. In addition to these, they submit testimonies to back up their request for permission to record papers on Mr. Xu outside of Singapore.  ,
The officials requested that their initial says, statements of state, and court orders be delivered via” the proper route to Taiwan for service” on Xu on February 26. The handle that was specified was in the Zhongshan District of Taipei.  ,
Additionally, they submitted a transcription certification claiming that a team of translators had translated the three files, along with a third, from English to Mandarin, as required by the Rules of Court.  ,
The officials ‘ attorneys claimed that Xu had not yet been served publications in its most recent report, a notice to the Supreme Court from March 11.  ,
On February 26, it informed the Supreme Court that its request had been granted and given a scenario number. No additional updates were received as of Mar 11; but,
Mr. Xu responded “no,” without going into further detail, to CNA’s question about whether the ministers  had fully served him with documents in Taiwan.