Singapore PM wins defamation lawsuits

Singapore’s prime minister was awarded more than a quarter of a million dollars in damages Wednesday after winning defamation suits against a news website editor and writer, the latest libel cases brought by the leader.

Critics say such lawsuits are among a range of tactics employed by the tightly regulated city-state to silence dissent.

Terry Xu, chief editor of the Online Citizen Asia, and a writer for the site were accused of defaming Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in two separate lawsuits.

The writer, Rubaashini Shunmuganathan, had penned an article in 2019 about a bitter feud that has rocked the premier’s family.