Blogger 'has misled PM Lee a second time'

Blogger 'has misled PM Lee a second time'

SINGAPORE - Blogger Roy Ngerng has "misled" Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the public a second time and "further aggravated the injury and distress" to Mr Lee by continuing to allege the Prime Minister had misappropriated Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings, said Mr Lee's lawyer yesterday.

He did so by failing to remove, as promised, a YouTube video on the same subject and sending two e-mails that republish blog posts with the same claims, which he was to have taken down on Monday.

Mr Ngerng therefore "only has himself to blame" for losing the opportunity to not pay aggravated damages, said Senior Counsel Davinder Singh.

He added that the blogger's $5,000 offer of damages made yesterday afternoon is "derisory and completely disregards the gravity of your client's conduct, the undisputed fact that the libel is false and malicious and your client's calculated and systematic aggravation of the injury and distress to our client".

The points were made by Mr Singh in two letters sent yesterday to Mr Ngerng's lawyer M. Ravi. The Senior Counsel said the first time the 33-year-old misled the Prime Minister and the public was when he apologised for a May 15 post alleging that CPF savings had been misappropriated.

The health-care worker also gave a written undertaking to remove the post and all links to it, and to not make further allegations to the same effect. But Mr Ngerng had "no intention of honouring them", Mr Singh wrote in his first letter yesterday.

The blogger had also promised on Monday to remove a video.

He did not. Instead, he made it private, a move that "continues to make it available to a select group of people", said Mr Singh.

[[nid:109622]]

The Senior Counsel also said that when Mr Lee agreed on Monday to Mr Ngerng's request for an extension of the deadline to make a written offer of damages and costs, it was based on a promise the blogger had made.

The promise was that he would take down the video and four blog posts by 5pm on Monday, and that he would not "further aggravate the injury and distress" to Mr Lee through similar other posts, video or other means.

But after Mr Lee agreed to the extension, "we learnt of two e-mails which appear to have been sent by your client", Mr Singh wrote, adding that one was to many people, including local and international media, and the other to an unidentified list of recipients.

The e-mails republish the offending posts and video "but this time to a far wider audience", said Mr Singh. They also told the recipients where they could continue to read some of the offending posts after 5pm on Monday.

The e-mails also assert that Mr Ngerng's allegation against Mr Lee is "the truth" and that Mr Lee had "complained about the offending posts 'to eliminate the evidence of corruption'" from Mr Ngerng's blog, Mr Singh wrote.

That Mr Ngerng "misled everyone about his promise to remove the YouTube video amounts to very grave aggravation", the Senior Counsel said. And if the e-mails were sent by him, that would be yet further aggravation.

And "in view of the gravity of this matter" and "without prejudice" to Mr Lee's rights in relation to the video and e-mails, Mr Singh asked Mr Ravi to give, by 5pm yesterday, his answers to some questions.

They include whether he knew Mr Ngerng did not intend to remove and/or did not remove the video and whether he sent the offending e-mails. In Mr Ravi's reply, obtained by The Straits Times, he said he had no prior knowledge of the two e-mails and had advised Mr Ngerng to desist from any action that will "further aggravate the injury and distress" to Mr Lee.

He added that his client admits sending the two e-mails and "sincerely and unreservedly apologises for his momentary lapse of judgment" - an explanation Mr Singh called "disingenuous and incredible".

Earlier yesterday, Mr Ngerng sent a lawyer's letter offering Mr Lee $5,000 as damages, and proposing each bears his own costs.

Mr Singh, in his second letter last night, said Mr Ngerng's apology and undertaking were completely insincere and that he "always intended to and did opportunistically use the occasion of our client's lawful and legitimate demand to raise his public profile, garner support and sympathy and renew his attack against our client".

The Senior Counsel also said Mr Ngerng had "pursued a course which was designed to aggravate the injury and distress" to Mr Lee by publishing or republishing the various posts and the YouTube video.

He also repeated the libel, went back on his apology and broke his undertaking, said Mr Singh. As a result, Mr Lee "became entitled to recover aggravated damages".

The Prime Minister, Mr Singh wrote, was prepared to forgo a substantial amount of the damages that he was entitled to if Mr Ngerng had behaved honourably. "Instead of doing that, he has cynically used the occasion of his knowingly false libel to promote himself."

Mr Ngerng has also not "come clean" to Mr Ravi, he added.

Mr Ravi is to let Mr Singh know by 5pm today if Mr Ngerng had given him instructions, and whether he will "accept service of process" on behalf of Mr Ngerng, the letter concluded.

Ongoing saga over blogger's posts on CPF

MAY 15: Blogger Roy Ngerng (left) publishes post alleging Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has misappropriated CPF savings

MAY 18: Mr Ngerng gets a lawyer's letter from PM Lee, asking that he take the post down immediately, apologise and make a written offer of damages and costs

MAY 19: Blogger removes the May 15 post

MAY 20: PM Lee agrees to let him respond by 5pm on May 23, instead of May 21 Mr Ngerng publishes new post on CPF

MAY 23: Mr Ngerng apologises, asks for damages to be dropped PM says no, asks for offer of damages and costs to be made by 5pm, May 26

MAY 24: Mr Ngerng uploads post and video about CPF

MAY 26: He agrees to PM Lee's demand to remove four blog posts, including those published on May 20 and May 24, and a YouTube video by 5pm or face aggravated damages Deadline for written offer of damages and costs pushed to May 28, 5pm He sends two e-mails - to recipients that include local and international media - republishing offending posts and makes the YouTube video private instead of removing it

MAY 27: PM Lee sends lawyer's letter about the e-mails and YouTube video Mr Ngerng offers $5,000 as damages and suggests each side bears own costs PM rejects offer


This article was first published on May 28, 2014.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.