Singapore Court Orders Bloomberg to Pay Ministers $356,000 in Defamation Case

News organization stands by its reporting after high court finds article defamed two government officials

A Singapore high court ordered Bloomberg News and one of its reporters to pay two government ministers a combined S$460,000, or roughly $356,000, after ruling that an article defamed them, according to a judgment released Tuesday and reported by The Guardian.

Bloomberg and reporter Low De Wei were found jointly liable to pay S$230,000 to each minister, made up of S$170,000 in general damages and S$60,000 in aggravated damages per plaintiff, the court said.

Bloomberg's editor-in-chief, John Micklethwait, said the news organization stands by its reporting, arguing the ministers who sued had "imposed an extremely strained meaning on what was a solid story."

The ruling adds to a string of defamation cases brought by Singaporean officials against foreign media, in a city-state where courts have repeatedly sided with the government in disputes over press coverage.

— Compiled from reporting by The Guardian.