Singapore Politician Loser in Lawsuit

An opposition politician lost a defamation suit Monday brought by Singapore’s top leaders, in a ruling that could lead to costly damages and make him ineligible to run in national elections.

A judge ruled that Singapore Democratic Party leader Chee Soon Juan defamed Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong with comments he made while campaigning last year, court documents showed.

“People will see it doesn’t really pay to speak up in Singapore,” Chee told reporters after the closed-door hearing. He said he was already nearly bankrupt and probably wouldn’t be able to pay. The exact amount of damages was not announced.

Bankrupt citizens may not run for Parliament, and critics charge that the government has employed defamation suits and their accompanying penalties to drive the opposition out of politics.

All but two elected seats in the legislature are held by Lee and Goh’s People’s Action Party.

Chee, while running unsuccessfully for a seat in Parliament last year, questioned the fate of a $10-billion loan made in 1998 to neighboring Indonesia, then ruled by strongman Suharto.

Chee is already banned from Parliament for five years following an earlier legal dispute about comments on religion he made at Singapore’s Speakers Corner.