Singapore's Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng sued Bloomberg and reporter Low De Wei for defamation over a December 12, 2024 article titled "Singapore mansion deals are increasingly shrouded in secrecy" [1, 2, 3]. The ministers alleged the article was false, baseless, defamatory, and showed "unprecedented malice" and aggravation [1, 2, 3].
The article mentioned Mr. Shanmugam's sale of his former Queen Astrid Park home to UBS Trustees for S$88 million and Dr. Tan's purchase of a bungalow in Brizay Park for nearly S$27.3 million in 2023 [1, 2]. Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, the ministers' lawyer, cited internal Bloomberg emails, refusal to retract, suppression of documents, and the removal of the article's paywall after a correction order as evidence of malice. He said, "This case is unprecedented for the malice, the determination to hurt and the aggravation" [1]. He also noted malice was "blatantly obvious", pointing out Bloomberg did not challenge the order to remove the article under Singapore's fake news law while publicly standing by its reporting and dropping the paywall [3].
Bloomberg defended the article as responsible journalism, saying the reporting was well researched and not defamatory [1, 2]. The ministers seek damages exceeding those ordered against The Online Citizen chief editor Terry Xu, who was ordered to pay S$574,000 in a related defamation case [3].
Property transactions referenced in the article took place in 2023 [1, 2]. Bloomberg published the contested article on December 12, 2024 [1, 2, 3]. Senior Counsel Davinder Singh made closing submissions on May 22, 2025 [1, 2]. The defamation trial involving ministers K. Shanmugam and Tan See Leng ended in June 2026 [3].
