Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong took the stand for nearly seven hours today, answering questions from a blogger he has successfully sued for defamation as the Supreme Court tried to decide how much he should be paid in damages.
Mr Lee sued Roy Ngerng, 34, for a blog last year in which the defendant was alleged to have implicated Mr Lee in impropriety in connection with how funds in Singapore's mandatory retirement savings scheme are managed.
The court has already ordered Ngerng to pay S$29,000 ($21,700) to Lee to cover legal costs. Today's hearing, which is expected to last until the end of the week, is to decide damages.
Its leaders have previously sued or settled out of court with foreign media for alleged defamation, but this is the first time a blogger has faced such action.
"I'm not here to dispute the judgment," he said.
Mr Lee said that Ngerng was not serious about wanting to solve the issue in court.
The PM's lawyers said Ngerng knowingly and maliciously published a vicious libel and later capitalised on it to promote himself as a champion of free speech.
Ngerng had offered S$5,000 to Mr Lee, which was rejected. Another offer of S$10,000 offer was also turned down. Lee and his lawyers didn't consider the offers sincere.
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