Singapore High Court grants injunction against PM Lee’s brother

Singapore's High Court granted injunctions against the estranged brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, preventing him from making defamatory statements against two of the country's ministers.

The injunctions announced Monday were sought by Law Minister K. Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. The officials had previously demanded Lee Hsien Yang withdraw allegations made in a Facebook post on July 23 in relation to state-owned residences that they rented. They also sought damages, which they said would be donated to charity. 

The court ruled that Lee Hsien Yang's refusal to remove the social media post, and to continue to highlight it in other online posts, signaled that it is likely he "will repeat the defamatory allegations." A decision on damages is scheduled for a later hearing, the court said. 

Lee Hsien Yang had responded on July 29, saying that the ministers misinterpreted his comments about them and that he had not asserted they "acted corruptly or for personal gain," as alleged. The state issued him with a fake news notice for the July 23 post and ordered him to correct it.

Earlier, a government review into the homes rented by the two ministers found no evidence of corruption or criminal wrongdoing.