The South China Morning Post (SCMP) has taken down an article, that was published yesterday (30 Sept), on Li Shengwu and the lawsuit Singapore’s Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has brought on against him. SCMP has said that the article was withdrawn “for legal reasons.”
Known widely as Hong Kong’s newspaper of record, SCMP is an English-language news publication founded in 1903 that is now owned by Alibaba Group. Known for its comprehensive international current affairs coverage, SCMP also comments extensively on socio-political developments in Singapore.
Yesterday, the publication carried an article entitled ‘Grandson of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew says online trolls fuelled controversy over judiciary comments’ that was written by Singaporean journalist Bhavan Jaipragas.
The article covered comments made by Li Shengwu, the grandson of Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, concerning the lawsuit he is currently facing in Singapore. During the bitter Lee family feud in 2017, the AGC initiated legal action against Shengwu over a private “friends-only” Facebook post in which he criticised the judiciary.
Excerpts of the SCMP article available elsewhere online suggest that the article covered remarks Shengwu reportedly made in a courtroom affidavit.
Last week, Shengwu revealed that he has filed his defence affidavit and that his legal team was advised by noted British barrister and parliamentarian David Pannick. He wrote on Facebook: “Friends often ask me if the Singapore government is still prosecuting me after all this time. The answer is yes. I just filed my defence affidavit.
“Over the past two years, my legal team has taken advice from David Pannick, a leading expert. I’m grateful for Lord Pannick’s guidance and help, even as he has been in the midst of winning a landmark constitutional case in the UK.”