Hearing on Ngerng's damages in July

A high court hearing will be held in July to assess the amount of damages payable by blogger Roy Ngerng to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for defamation.

Mr George Hwang, the third lawyer to represent Mr Ngerng in the defamation case, told reporters after a closed-door administrative hearing yesterday that the case will be heard between July 1 and July 3.

He declined to comment further because the matter is before the court.

Justice Lee Seiu Kin ruled last November that Mr Ngerng, 33, had defamed Mr Lee in a blog post dated May 15 last year by suggesting that the Prime Minister had misappropriated Central Provident Fund savings.

Earlier this year, the High Court ordered Mr Ngerng to pay Mr Lee $29,000 in legal fees and related expenses for costs incurred up to the conclusion of the application for a summary judgment.

The sum was due on Jan 29, but a spat between Mr Ngerng and his lawyer at the time, Mr M. Ravi, led to the payment being delayed until Feb 6.

In mid-February, Mr Ravi was suspended from practising law following concerns about his mental health.

Mr Ngerng's case was then taken up by Mr Eugene Thuraisingam, who was in turn replaced by Mr Hwang earlier this month.

Mr Lee is represented by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh of Drew & Napier.

This article was first published on March 28, 2015.
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