Overview
- Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng opened their High Court suit on Tuesday, challenging a December 2024 Bloomberg article on secretive luxury home sales.
- The piece cited Mr Shanmugam’s trust-based sale in Queen Astrid Park and Dr Tan’s non-caveated purchase in Brizay Park; a caveat is a filing that lets a buyer register interest with the land authority and make a deal easier to find.
- The ministers say the article implied they exploited weak checks to hide transactions and hinted at money laundering, which they argue harmed their reputations.
- Bloomberg and reporter Low De Wei deny defamation, say the references to the ministers were brief and accurate, describe the story as responsible reporting on a matter of public interest, and note they sought comment from both men’s offices.
- Cross-examination has focused on internal emails that Mr Shanmugam says show he was targeted, including a line that a story on his sale would “strike a nerve,” which Bloomberg’s lawyer disputes as the hearings continue into mid-April with the article still online under a contested government correction.