Singapore: Court ruling in Bloomberg libel case threatens public-interest journalism

The Singapore High Court has ordered Bloomberg News and reporter Low De Wei to pay substantial damages to two government ministers after finding them liable for defamation over an article regarding luxury real estate transactions. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the ruling, which sets a dangerous precedent for public interest reporting in Singapore.

Singapore-based Bloomberg News senior executive editor John Fraher (L) and reporter Low De Wei (R) leave the Supreme court in Singapore on April 7, 2026. Credit: Roslan Rahman / AFP

High Court Judge Audrey Lim ordered Bloomberg and Low De Wei to pay a combined SGD 460,000 (approx. USD 356,000) in damages to Home Affairs and Law Minister Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng on July 14. The damages, comprising SGD 170,000 in general damages and SGD 60,000 in aggravated damages for each minister, stem from an investigative article titled 'Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy', published on December 12, 2024.

The article examined secrecy surrounding the purchase of highly popular luxury bungalows and investigated the use of transactions through private trusts to maintain financial privacy. The report cited official, public real estate records from 2023 that included property transactions involving the two ministers.

The High Court rejected Bloomberg's defence that the report examined a broader market trend rather than personal wrongdoing, ruling that reading the article as a whole linked the ministers' deals to secrecy and potential money laundering. The court also denied the 'Reynolds Privilege', a common law principle protecting journalists who report on matters of public interest, stating that constitutional free speech protections only applied to Singaporean citizens and not Bloomberg as a foreign entity.

The court also deemed Bloomberg's decision to drop its paywall on the article, done so the public could freely read the mandatory correction notice issued under Singapore's controversial Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), as an act of "malice" aimed at broadening the report's reach.

Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait said in a statement that the organisation continued to believe its reporting was accurate and served an important public interest, and that the ministers had "imposed an extremely strained meaning on what was a solid story".

The IFJ said: "The Singapore High Court's ruling against Bloomberg is an unacceptable blow to investigative journalism. Weaponising defamation laws against media outlets for reporting in the public interest creates a dangerous environment of self-censorship designed to insulate public officials from legitimate scrutiny. The IFJ calls for the ruling to be overturned and the end to the harassment of independent and critical media in Singapore."