Legal News

Singapore Court Fines WSJ for ?Scandalizing the Court?

By Amir Efrati

It’s not often the Law Blog finds its sister publication, the Wall Street Journal, embroiled in legal news. But a ruling Tuesday in Singapore (pictured) shows how the tiny island country has become a challenging battleground for western publications.

In a case brought by the city-state’s attorney general, Singapore’s high court found the publisher of the Wall Street Journal’s asian edition and two of its editors in contempt of court for publishing two editorials and a letter to the editor that the government says damaged the reputation of the country’s judicial system. The court fined the newspaper about $16,500, the largest ever penalty in such a case. Here are stories from Brunei Times and WSJ.

After a trial, Justice Tay Yong Kwang ruled against the newspaper over editorials published in June and July that questioned the judiciary’s independence from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the ruling People’s Action Party. The letter to the editor was written by Chee Soon Juan, head of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party.

The editorials and the letter “contained insinuations of bias, lack of impartiality and lack of independence and implied that the judiciary is subservient to Lee and/or the PAP and is a tool for silencing political dissent,” Justice Tay ruled. “There can be no doubt that allegations of the nature mentioned above would immediately cast doubts on the judiciary in Singapore and undermine public confidence.”

A spokesman for Dow Jones, the News Corp. unit that owns WSJ and the Law Blog, said the company “strongly disagrees with the court’s analysis” and that its newspaper “has not engaged in a ‘campaign’ of any sort against the Singapore judiciary. We will in the future continue to defend the right of The Wall Street Journal Asia to report and comment on matters of international importance, including matters concerning Singapore.”

Singapore’s leaders have sued journalists and political opponents several times in past years for alleged defamation, notes the Times. They have won lawsuits and damages against Bloomberg, the Economist and the International Herald Tribune.

Human Rights Watch called on Singapore last month to stop using defamation lawsuits to stifle criticism and bankrupt opposition politicians. Another Dow Jones publication, The Far Eastern Economic Review, was in September held to have defamed the elder Mr. Lee and his son, the prime minister, in relation to an article concerning Mr. Chee.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on November 26, 2008 (boomark / email).