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Leong Sze Hian/Terry Xu
- Thread starter ckmpd
- Start date
Whatever the amount of the legal costs incurred by the plaintiff, and the Court costs, awarded against Leong, it would appear that Leong may have to crowd fund that amount.
Litigation is not cheap, and those senior lawyers, especially SC, may be charging $1,500 to $2,500 an hour.
If I were to make a wild guess, costs against Leong, conservatively, could be in the range of $50,000.
But for that lawyer, I heard that years ago, he seldom take on a case for a retainer less than $50,000. Therefore, in 2020, I would not be surprised that the initial retainer could be $50,000. That amount may only be sufficient for 20 to 30 hours of his time, excluding his associates.
Litigation is not cheap, and those senior lawyers, especially SC, may be charging $1,500 to $2,500 an hour.
If I were to make a wild guess, costs against Leong, conservatively, could be in the range of $50,000.
But for that lawyer, I heard that years ago, he seldom take on a case for a retainer less than $50,000. Therefore, in 2020, I would not be surprised that the initial retainer could be $50,000. That amount may only be sufficient for 20 to 30 hours of his time, excluding his associates.
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We have a incompetent commander in chief to defend our country... sad day for Singapore and their future.... commoners cried everynight before they go to sleep...
News of Leong Sze Hian's crowdfunding success to pay off PM Lee's defamation damages made global headlines - The Online Citizen Asia
News of Leong Sze Hian’s crowdfunding success to pay off PM Lee’s defamation damages made global headlines
But Singapore mainstream media has largely remained silent
by Correspondent
06/04/2021
Reading Time: 4 mins read
It was reported on Monday (5 Apr) that Singapore mainstream media has largely remained silent over Leong Sze Hian’s crowdfunding success to raise the full damages awarded by the Singapore High Court to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong over the span of just 11 days.
Rather than publishing the news on its main newspapers, SPH has chosen to post the news on its AsiaOne online platform (‘Singapore blogger crowdfunds $99k to pay PM damages in defamation case‘).
Mr Leong, a financial advisor and blogger, initiated his crowdfunding effort on 25 March after the High Court ordered a sum of S$133,000 to be paid to PM Lee for the defamation suit brought against him by PM Lee.
He was able to raise the amount, thanks to the support from the public. However, he would still need to pay for the various cost stemming from legal cost and court fees.
While the local media in Singapore are reluctant to publicise the news of Mr Leong’s success in raising the S$133,000 from the Singaporean public too much, it has been picked up by news outlets worldwide:
News of Leong Sze Hian’s crowdfunding success to pay off PM Lee’s defamation damages made global headlines
But Singapore mainstream media has largely remained silent
by Correspondent
06/04/2021
Reading Time: 4 mins read
It was reported on Monday (5 Apr) that Singapore mainstream media has largely remained silent over Leong Sze Hian’s crowdfunding success to raise the full damages awarded by the Singapore High Court to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong over the span of just 11 days.
Rather than publishing the news on its main newspapers, SPH has chosen to post the news on its AsiaOne online platform (‘Singapore blogger crowdfunds $99k to pay PM damages in defamation case‘).
Mr Leong, a financial advisor and blogger, initiated his crowdfunding effort on 25 March after the High Court ordered a sum of S$133,000 to be paid to PM Lee for the defamation suit brought against him by PM Lee.
He was able to raise the amount, thanks to the support from the public. However, he would still need to pay for the various cost stemming from legal cost and court fees.
While the local media in Singapore are reluctant to publicise the news of Mr Leong’s success in raising the S$133,000 from the Singaporean public too much, it has been picked up by news outlets worldwide:
Leong Sze Hian’s crowdfunding success demonstrates how common people can weaken libel tactics by S’pore leaders - The Online Citizen Asia
Veteran blogger Leong Sze Hian’s crowdfunding success on Easter Sunday has highlighted how libel tactics by the Singapore leaders can be easily weakened by the common people through donations in a crowdfunding campaign.
Mr Leong, a financial advisor and blogger, initiated his crowdfunding effort on 25 Mar after the High Court ordered a sum of S$133,000 to be paid to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for the defamation suit brought against him by PM Lee.
The defamation suit concerns an article shared by Mr Leong on his personal Facebook Timeline titled “Breaking News: Singapore Lee Hsien Loong Becomes 1MDB’s Key Investigation Target – Najib Signed Several Unfair Agreements with Hsien Loong In Exchange For Money Laundering”.
The article, published by “Malaysian-based social news network” The Coverage, alleged that PM Lee had entered “several unfair agreements” with Najib Razak, who was the Malaysian Prime Minister at the time the deals purportedly took place, “including the agreement to build the Singapore-Malaysia High-Speed Rail”, according to court documents.
After just 11 days of crowdfunding, Mr Leong said that a “Miracle on Easter Sunday” had been achieved, noting that 2,065 people had contributed to the crowdfunding efforts.
A total of S$133,082 was raised as of Sunday, with the highest donation being S$5,000 and the smallest being S$2.91.
Speaking to Asia Sentinel on Wednesday (7 Apr), he branded the crowdfunding success as a “pyrrhic victory”.
“Thousands have written to me. It seems that the fear of the people may be turning into anger. I hope that this will be the last time that any politician will sue ordinary citizens for defamation (in Singapore), as they must realize now that it does not pay to continue to do so,” said Mr Leong.
While Mr Leong has managed to raise the damages for the defamation suit, he is still required to pay various costs comprising legal costs and court fees, which could amount to S$50,000 or more.
A Singaporean lawyer based in Hong Kong – who was not identified in the Asia Sentinel report – said that defamation lawsuits by the ruling party are intended to “punish critics” and “cripple them financially”.
“If one disregards the time and effort that the defendant has to spend on his defense, then donations by the public to support the public mean that neither of these objectives is achieved.
“Critics are likely to keep their silence for fear of the financial cost associated with losing these defamation claims. If the financial cost is covered by donations, however, this removes a significant disincentive for offering criticism, and could encourage more people to speak up,” said the lawyer.
PM Lee is also suing Terry Xu, the chief editor of The Online Citizen, pertaining to an article published on 15 August 2019 titled “PM Lee’s wife, Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members”.
The article contained alleged defamatory statements made by PM Lee’s siblings Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling in relation to the 38 Oxley Road dispute.
Lawyer Lim Tean, who is defending both cases, told Asia Sentinel that he hopes the two libel cases of Mr Leong and Mr Xu will be the “last of the political libel trials our nation will witness”.
“Henceforth, the PAP should know that any attempt to curb free speech using antiquated libel laws will be met with the full resistance of the people, who are not prepared to be steamrolled any longer,” said Mr Lim.
He continued, “They may win the courts but these will be pyrrhic victories. The real winners will be the common man of Singapore who are willing to pay any price to support their champions such as Leong Sze Hian and Terry Xu, as this extraordinary crowdfunding campaign has demonstrated.”
Mr LHY, PM Lee’s younger brother, was among the 2,065 people who had donated to Mr Leong’s crowdfunding campaign.
“I was happy to be one of the many donors who came forward to help Leong to pay off the damages awarded by the court. It is very significant so many Singaporeans came forward to express their support,” said Mr LHY.
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Veteran blogger Leong Sze Hian’s crowdfunding success on Easter Sunday has highlighted how libel tactics by the Singapore leaders can be easily weakened by the common people through donations in a crowdfunding campaign.
Mr Leong, a financial advisor and blogger, initiated his crowdfunding effort on 25 Mar after the High Court ordered a sum of S$133,000 to be paid to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for the defamation suit brought against him by PM Lee.
The defamation suit concerns an article shared by Mr Leong on his personal Facebook Timeline titled “Breaking News: Singapore Lee Hsien Loong Becomes 1MDB’s Key Investigation Target – Najib Signed Several Unfair Agreements with Hsien Loong In Exchange For Money Laundering”.
The article, published by “Malaysian-based social news network” The Coverage, alleged that PM Lee had entered “several unfair agreements” with Najib Razak, who was the Malaysian Prime Minister at the time the deals purportedly took place, “including the agreement to build the Singapore-Malaysia High-Speed Rail”, according to court documents.
After just 11 days of crowdfunding, Mr Leong said that a “Miracle on Easter Sunday” had been achieved, noting that 2,065 people had contributed to the crowdfunding efforts.
A total of S$133,082 was raised as of Sunday, with the highest donation being S$5,000 and the smallest being S$2.91.
Speaking to Asia Sentinel on Wednesday (7 Apr), he branded the crowdfunding success as a “pyrrhic victory”.
“Thousands have written to me. It seems that the fear of the people may be turning into anger. I hope that this will be the last time that any politician will sue ordinary citizens for defamation (in Singapore), as they must realize now that it does not pay to continue to do so,” said Mr Leong.
While Mr Leong has managed to raise the damages for the defamation suit, he is still required to pay various costs comprising legal costs and court fees, which could amount to S$50,000 or more.
A Singaporean lawyer based in Hong Kong – who was not identified in the Asia Sentinel report – said that defamation lawsuits by the ruling party are intended to “punish critics” and “cripple them financially”.
“If one disregards the time and effort that the defendant has to spend on his defense, then donations by the public to support the public mean that neither of these objectives is achieved.
“Critics are likely to keep their silence for fear of the financial cost associated with losing these defamation claims. If the financial cost is covered by donations, however, this removes a significant disincentive for offering criticism, and could encourage more people to speak up,” said the lawyer.
PM Lee is also suing Terry Xu, the chief editor of The Online Citizen, pertaining to an article published on 15 August 2019 titled “PM Lee’s wife, Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members”.
The article contained alleged defamatory statements made by PM Lee’s siblings Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling in relation to the 38 Oxley Road dispute.
Lawyer Lim Tean, who is defending both cases, told Asia Sentinel that he hopes the two libel cases of Mr Leong and Mr Xu will be the “last of the political libel trials our nation will witness”.
“Henceforth, the PAP should know that any attempt to curb free speech using antiquated libel laws will be met with the full resistance of the people, who are not prepared to be steamrolled any longer,” said Mr Lim.
He continued, “They may win the courts but these will be pyrrhic victories. The real winners will be the common man of Singapore who are willing to pay any price to support their champions such as Leong Sze Hian and Terry Xu, as this extraordinary crowdfunding campaign has demonstrated.”
Mr LHY, PM Lee’s younger brother, was among the 2,065 people who had donated to Mr Leong’s crowdfunding campaign.
“I was happy to be one of the many donors who came forward to help Leong to pay off the damages awarded by the court. It is very significant so many Singaporeans came forward to express their support,” said Mr LHY.
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Theindependent
He is glad his 'two-year ordeal' is over
Photo: Leong Sze Hian
Author
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Singapore—Blogger Leong Sze Hian’s crowdfunding success in the defamation suit brought against him by Prime Minister Lee Hisen Loong may be perceived as a way to push back against lawsuits from the Government, according to a new article in international media news site VICE.
Mr Leong told VICE he hopes that “this will be the last time any of our ruling party politicians will sue citizens for defamation.
The PAP has to realise that it does not pay to sue ordinary Singaporeans, the people who they are meant to be protecting, by bringing us to court and treating us like criminals.”
Two days ago, Mr Leong wrote on his Facebook page that he had raised the S$133,000 needed to pay for damages the High Court awarded PM Lee in less than two weeks since he started crowdfunding with over 2,000 donors giving to his cause. ,
The 66-year-old blogger and financial adviser was sued by the Prime Minister for sharing a reportedly defamatory article from The Coverage, a Malaysian news site, on Nov 8, 2018.
- Advertisement -
Mr Leong told VICE that he had been “specifically targeted” for having shared the post, even though he complied in removing it.
But the High Court’s Justice Aedit Abdullah said that the blogger had shared the article “without making any enquiries as to its truth whatsoever” and displayed “reckless disregard of whether the article was true or not”.
“When seen cumulatively with his refusal to apologise for the defamatory words, malice may be made out on the facts,” the judge added.
VICE also spoke to activist Roy Ngerng, now based in Taiwan, who had been successfully sued by PM Lee in 2014 for defamation.
Mr Ngerng could not raise the amount awarded for damages in the suit and had to leave Singapore.
He called Mr Leong’s crowdfunding success a step forward.
“Protests are not allowed in Singapore but the fact that Leong Sze Hian was able to raise that amount of money to pay off our prime minister sends a strong signal that Singaporeans no longer tolerate our government’s abuse of the law to go against those who dare speak up,” Mr Ngerng told VICE.
Associate law professor Eugene Tan explained that the Government takes accusations of wrongdoing very seriously and sees that lawsuits are “the only way” forward in clearing their names and reputations, especially in allegations of dishonesty, corruption or fraud.
“Then the person making the allegations must be able to back them up, otherwise defamation law comes into play,” he said.
/TISG
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He is glad his 'two-year ordeal' is over
Author
- Advertisement -
Singapore—Blogger Leong Sze Hian’s crowdfunding success in the defamation suit brought against him by Prime Minister Lee Hisen Loong may be perceived as a way to push back against lawsuits from the Government, according to a new article in international media news site VICE.
Mr Leong told VICE he hopes that “this will be the last time any of our ruling party politicians will sue citizens for defamation.
The PAP has to realise that it does not pay to sue ordinary Singaporeans, the people who they are meant to be protecting, by bringing us to court and treating us like criminals.”
Two days ago, Mr Leong wrote on his Facebook page that he had raised the S$133,000 needed to pay for damages the High Court awarded PM Lee in less than two weeks since he started crowdfunding with over 2,000 donors giving to his cause. ,
The 66-year-old blogger and financial adviser was sued by the Prime Minister for sharing a reportedly defamatory article from The Coverage, a Malaysian news site, on Nov 8, 2018.
Mr Leong is just the latest person to be sued by Singaporean leaders who have sued and obtained damages even from international media outfits such as the New York Times, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal in the past.
- Advertisement -
Mr Leong told VICE that he had been “specifically targeted” for having shared the post, even though he complied in removing it.
But the High Court’s Justice Aedit Abdullah said that the blogger had shared the article “without making any enquiries as to its truth whatsoever” and displayed “reckless disregard of whether the article was true or not”.
“When seen cumulatively with his refusal to apologise for the defamatory words, malice may be made out on the facts,” the judge added.
VICE also spoke to activist Roy Ngerng, now based in Taiwan, who had been successfully sued by PM Lee in 2014 for defamation.
Mr Ngerng could not raise the amount awarded for damages in the suit and had to leave Singapore.
He called Mr Leong’s crowdfunding success a step forward.
“Protests are not allowed in Singapore but the fact that Leong Sze Hian was able to raise that amount of money to pay off our prime minister sends a strong signal that Singaporeans no longer tolerate our government’s abuse of the law to go against those who dare speak up,” Mr Ngerng told VICE.
Associate law professor Eugene Tan explained that the Government takes accusations of wrongdoing very seriously and sees that lawsuits are “the only way” forward in clearing their names and reputations, especially in allegations of dishonesty, corruption or fraud.
“Then the person making the allegations must be able to back them up, otherwise defamation law comes into play,” he said.
/TISG
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Theindependent
- Advertisement -
Singapore — A Facebook post has emerged claiming that Mr Lee Hsien Yang, brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, donated money to Mr Leong Sze Hian to cover damages awarded to PM Lee in a defamation case.
Singapore’s High Court on March 24 ordered Mr Leong to pay S$133,000 to PM Lee for posting a link to a Malaysian news site that alleged the city-state’s leader had helped launder 1Malaysia Development Berhad funds.
Since then more than 2,000 people have donated to a crowdfunding campaign on social media to raise the full amount, Mr Lim Tean, Leong’s attorney, announced on Facebook on Monday (Apr 5).
In a Facebook post, one netizen claimed that the younger Mr Lee donated money during the 11 days that Mr Leong had been raising funds to pay the damages.
- Advertisement -
On Sunday (Apr 4), Mr Leong shared on Facebook that he had raised S$133,082 from over 2,000 people in his crowdfunding campaign.
Among the donors were former opposition leader Mr Chiam See Tong and his wife, Mrs Lina Chiam. Within a day, Mr Leong raised S$20,000 from 340 people. The single highest amount he received was S$5000.
What Initially Happened
The defamation suit revolved around a Facebook post that Mr Leong had shared on his wall.
The post alleged PM Lee’s involvement in the 1MDB corruption scandal, and in helping former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak launder money.
It was flagged by IMDA after three days and Mr Leong promptly removed the post.
However, the defamation suit took place after PM Lee claimed that Mr Leong’s sharing the post without verifying the information was damaging to him.
The judge awarded S$100,000 in general damages and $33,000 in aggravated damages. /TISGFollow us on Social Media
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- Advertisement -
Follow us on Social Media
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
Reddit
LinkedIn
Telegram
Email
Send in your scoops to [email protected]
- Advertisement -
Singapore — A Facebook post has emerged claiming that Mr Lee Hsien Yang, brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, donated money to Mr Leong Sze Hian to cover damages awarded to PM Lee in a defamation case.
Singapore’s High Court on March 24 ordered Mr Leong to pay S$133,000 to PM Lee for posting a link to a Malaysian news site that alleged the city-state’s leader had helped launder 1Malaysia Development Berhad funds.
Since then more than 2,000 people have donated to a crowdfunding campaign on social media to raise the full amount, Mr Lim Tean, Leong’s attorney, announced on Facebook on Monday (Apr 5).
In a Facebook post, one netizen claimed that the younger Mr Lee donated money during the 11 days that Mr Leong had been raising funds to pay the damages.
- Advertisement -
On Sunday (Apr 4), Mr Leong shared on Facebook that he had raised S$133,082 from over 2,000 people in his crowdfunding campaign.
Among the donors were former opposition leader Mr Chiam See Tong and his wife, Mrs Lina Chiam. Within a day, Mr Leong raised S$20,000 from 340 people. The single highest amount he received was S$5000.
What Initially Happened
The defamation suit revolved around a Facebook post that Mr Leong had shared on his wall.
The post alleged PM Lee’s involvement in the 1MDB corruption scandal, and in helping former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak launder money.
It was flagged by IMDA after three days and Mr Leong promptly removed the post.
However, the defamation suit took place after PM Lee claimed that Mr Leong’s sharing the post without verifying the information was damaging to him.
The judge awarded S$100,000 in general damages and $33,000 in aggravated damages. /TISGFollow us on Social Media
YouTube
Telegram
Send in your scoops to [email protected]
- Advertisement -
Follow us on Social Media
YouTube
Telegram
Send in your scoops to [email protected]
I speculate that a well known individual could have donated $5,000.
The way it's presented, the whole video bcomes boring.
Opposition members from PSP, SDP & PV gather to celebrate successful crowdfunding for Leong Sze Hian
Lim also called for the opposition to work even more closely on an "alliance of issues" moving forward.
Lean Jinghui |
April 11, 2021, 08:37 PM
Opposition politicians from three different political parties - People's Voice (PV), Progress Singapore Party (PSP), and Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) met yesterday, April 10, for an "alliance of issues" over lunch.
According to a Facebook post by Lim Tean, leader of the PV, the event had been hosted by Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) and PSP politician Leong Mun Wai, to congratulate Leong Sze Hian on his "recent very successful crowdfunding campaign".
"Significant political transformation"
Lim wrote that the successful campaign marked a "significant political transformation" amongst Singaporeans.
Leong is a Singaporean politician and blogger, who had been ordered to pay S$133,000 in defamation damages to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, earlier this year on March 24.
Leong, who contested as a PV candidate in GE 2020, had subsequently crowdfunded the full amount via public donations to pay for his defamation suit by April 4, 11 days later.
In his post, Lim commended Singaporeans for protecting the rights of their "fellow men".
Criticised the recent GST hike
Lim also went on to criticise the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) hike, which was announced to be "sooner rather than later" during this year's Budget 2021 debate.
Lim said that the politicians who attended the lunch agreed that the opposition must do their utmost to oppose the proposed GST hike.
He added that GST is "a most regressive form of taxation which hurts the middle class and lower income groups the hardest".
He said that a two per cent GST hike will have a "disproportionately harmful effect on the finances of these two groups when it will net the government no more than S$3 billion a year in revenue".
Other opposition politicians present at the lunch included Paul Thambyah, chairman of the SDP, and PV's Kok Ming Cheang.
An "Alliance of Issues"
Lim also briefly shared his thoughts on the recent change of 4G leadership, stressing that it was especially important that the opposition work even more closely on an "alliance of issues" in future.
He wrote:
"Singaporeans expect no less, especially at this time when they have realised how bereft the PAP are of ideas and talent. They can’t even decide who is to lead them going forward.
Mun Wai, Paul and the others, thank you once again for a very enjoyable lunch and the stimulating conversation!"
You can find the full Facebook post here:
Top image via Lim Tean Facebook
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.
Lim also called for the opposition to work even more closely on an "alliance of issues" moving forward.
Lean Jinghui |
April 11, 2021, 08:37 PM
Opposition politicians from three different political parties - People's Voice (PV), Progress Singapore Party (PSP), and Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) met yesterday, April 10, for an "alliance of issues" over lunch.
According to a Facebook post by Lim Tean, leader of the PV, the event had been hosted by Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) and PSP politician Leong Mun Wai, to congratulate Leong Sze Hian on his "recent very successful crowdfunding campaign".
"Significant political transformation"
Lim wrote that the successful campaign marked a "significant political transformation" amongst Singaporeans.
Leong is a Singaporean politician and blogger, who had been ordered to pay S$133,000 in defamation damages to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, earlier this year on March 24.
Leong, who contested as a PV candidate in GE 2020, had subsequently crowdfunded the full amount via public donations to pay for his defamation suit by April 4, 11 days later.
In his post, Lim commended Singaporeans for protecting the rights of their "fellow men".
Criticised the recent GST hike
Lim also went on to criticise the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) hike, which was announced to be "sooner rather than later" during this year's Budget 2021 debate.
Lim said that the politicians who attended the lunch agreed that the opposition must do their utmost to oppose the proposed GST hike.
He added that GST is "a most regressive form of taxation which hurts the middle class and lower income groups the hardest".
He said that a two per cent GST hike will have a "disproportionately harmful effect on the finances of these two groups when it will net the government no more than S$3 billion a year in revenue".
Other opposition politicians present at the lunch included Paul Thambyah, chairman of the SDP, and PV's Kok Ming Cheang.
An "Alliance of Issues"
Lim also briefly shared his thoughts on the recent change of 4G leadership, stressing that it was especially important that the opposition work even more closely on an "alliance of issues" in future.
He wrote:
"Singaporeans expect no less, especially at this time when they have realised how bereft the PAP are of ideas and talent. They can’t even decide who is to lead them going forward.
Mun Wai, Paul and the others, thank you once again for a very enjoyable lunch and the stimulating conversation!"
You can find the full Facebook post here:
Top image via Lim Tean Facebook
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.
me not sure if he is a "gentleman" .
but very sure he is not well liked by many many on Social Media .
also very sure sure that he knows who buttered his breads and how many sides too.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Cheng
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