SINGAPORE: Defamation lawsuits filed by Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng against The Online Citizen (TOC) chief editor Xu Yuanchen, better known as Terry Xu, remain at a complete standstill, as the ministers have yet to serve him with the writs of summons.
While case conferences — where the court sets timelines and directions for proceedings — have been scheduled for 1 April 2025, the ministers’ failure to serve Xu means that no legal proceedings have formally commenced against him.
Xu, who is currently based in Taiwan, has not received any legal documents from the ministers or their legal representatives.
Without service of the writs, the case cannot move forward in any meaningful legal sense.
Background on the lawsuits
Shanmugam and Tan filed their defamation claims against Xu on 6 January 2025, following the republication of a Bloomberg article originally published on 12 December 2024.
The article scrutinised transactions in Singapore’s Good Class Bungalow (GCB) market, raising concerns about transparency in property purchases involving the use of trusts.
On 16 December, the ministers publicly announced their intention to initiate legal action against individuals and outlets that had reproduced or linked to the Bloomberg piece.
Three days later, on 19 December, Bloomberg, The Edge Singapore, and The Online Citizen were issued letters of demand, requiring them to remove the article and issue formal apologies by 24 December 2024.
Xu issued a public statement on 25 December 2024, declining to apologise or take down TOC’s articles.
He revealed that he had provided the ministers with a service address in Taiwan.
Court records dated 26 March 2025 show that the ministers are represented by Davinder Singh Chambers, with Davinder Singh and David Fong listed on the case.
Xu remains unrepresented in Singapore courts.
The legal action stems from reports that republished a Bloomberg article published on 12 December 2024, which scrutinised transactions in Singapore’s Good Class Bungalow (GCB) market.
The article raised concerns about transparency in property transactions involving trusts.
On 16 December 2024, the ministers announced legal proceedings against those who had reproduced the Bloomberg report.
Three days later, on 19 December, Bloomberg, The Edge Singapore, and TOC were issued letters of demand, requiring them to remove the article and issue apologies by 24 December.
POFMA intervention and responses from media outlets
On 23 December 2024, Singapore’s Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) Office, under the instruction of Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community & Youth and Second Minister for Law, issued correction directions to Bloomberg, The Edge Singapore, and TOC.
All three platforms complied by appending the required correction notices. However, the responses varied.
The Edge Singapore complied fully with the ministers’ demands, issuing an apology and removing its article by 24 December.
Bloomberg, on the other hand, did not remove its article or issue an apology. Instead, it included a statement below the POFMA correction notice, asserting that it stood by its reporting.
The ministers had demanded that the involved parties declare the articles to be “false and completely without foundation,” a claim that Bloomberg refused to endorse.
Meanwhile, Xu issued a public statement on 25 December 2024, declining to apologise or take down TOC’s articles.
He revealed that he had provided the ministers with a service address in Taiwan.
This has raised potential complications for the case, as the legal proceedings may face delays if the ministers do not obtain the necessary permissions to serve the writs overseas.
Bloomberg and TOC Articles Focus on GCB Transactions
Both Bloomberg and TOC’s articles scrutinized transactions in Singapore’s Good Class Bungalow (GCB) market, highlighting concerns over transparency.
The articles reported that some GCB transactions were conducted using trusts, which do not disclose the ultimate beneficiaries in public records accessible through the Singapore Land Authority.
Bloomberg cited significant transactions involving both ministers:
- Minister Shanmugam’s sale of a GCB in Queen Astrid Park for S$88 million in 2023.
- Minister Tan’s purchase of a GCB in Brizay Park for S$27.3 million, also in 2023.
The ministers have not denied the transactions but, in their letters of demand, alleged that the articles falsely implied that they:
- Exploited legal mechanisms for privacy to avoid scrutiny.
- Acted improperly by participating in an opaque system with no safeguards or disclosure requirements.
The Singapore government has defended the use of trusts in GCB transactions, stating that it knows the identities of the ultimate beneficiaries even when trusts are used and that there was no lack of transparency in GCB transactions.
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