Two months since ministers' legal threats – No action taken
Two months have passed since Ministers Tan See Leng and K. Shanmugam threatened legal action against TOC’s Chief Editor, Terry Xu, over an article referencing Bloomberg’s reporting. Yet, they have not followed through with their legal threats to date.
It has now been two months since the deadline set by Manpower Minister Tan See Leng and Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam for me to comply with their legal demands.
For those who are not aware, on 19 December 2024, I received letters from their lawyers at Davinder Singh Chambers LLC threatening legal action if I did not remove an article published on The Online Citizen (TOC) and issue a public apology by 24 December 2024.
The article in question, published on 12 December 2024, referenced a Bloomberg report highlighting transparency concerns in Singapore’s Good Class Bungalow (GCB) market.
It specifically noted the lack of public records for nearly half of 2024’s GCB transactions and raised concerns about the use of trusts in property ownership.
The ministers took issue with TOC’s reporting on:
- Dr Tan See Leng’s purchase of a GCB in 2023 for S$27.3 million, which Bloomberg reported as not reflected in public records.
- Mr K. Shanmugam’s sale of a GCB in August 2023 for S$88 million, conducted through a trust known as the Jasmine Villa Settlement, with its ultimate beneficiary undisclosed.
These were not allegations made by TOC but rather facts derived from Bloomberg’s reporting and our own reportage, which in turn was based on available public records. The ministers themselves do not deny that the transactions took place.
No Apology, No Retraction, No Lawsuit
Despite the ministers’ demands, the following facts remain:
- Bloomberg has not apologized or fully retracted its article.
- I have not complied with the ministers’ demands.
- No legal proceedings have been initiated against either Bloomberg or myself, despite my having provided the ministers with the option to serve legal papers to me in Taiwan.
If the ministers were serious about their claims, they would have to follow through with their threats and commence legal proceedings against both Bloomberg and myself for failing to comply, as they had done in the past.
However, two months have passed with no action taken.
Silence from the Mainstream Media
What is also telling is the complete silence from Singapore’s mainstream media on this issue.
While they were quick to report on the ministers’ legal threats when they were first issued, there has been no coverage of Bloomberg’s non-apology, my refusal to comply, or the ministers’ failure to act on their threats.
You can just do a simple Google Search to see that none of the media outlets in Singapore have covered this simple development. CNA and The Straits Times didn't even bother to mention the price tag for the properties involved in their articles.
This raises fundamental questions:
Were these legal threats merely an intimidation tactic to suppress independent reporting?
Why has the media chosen not to report on the ministers’ inaction?
What does this say about the state of press freedom and accountability in Singapore?
Holding Power to Account
Since Singapore’s mainstream media refuses to report on these developments, I am making it known to the public. The role of independent journalism is to hold those in power accountable and to ensure that important matters do not disappear from public discussion simply because they are inconvenient for those in authority.
I invite readers to review my full response, published in December, and judge for themselves.
Press freedom is not just about the ability to report—it is about ensuring that those in power cannot use legal threats to silence scrutiny without following through.
Terry Xu
Chief Editor, The Online Citizen
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