Singapore PM's nephew Li Shengwu fined $10,884 over private Facebook post in 2017

Singapore’s high court has fined Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong’s nephew, Li Shengwu $10,884 on July 29 for scandalising the judiciary.  The outcome was of a long-running case that was related to a private Facebook post of 2017 when Singapore PM’s nephew said that the government was ‘very litigious and has a pliant court system’. Li’s comments were in relation to the feud over the home of Singapore’s founding father, Lee Kuan Yew.

This dispute had put Li’s father, Lee Hsien Yang, and the current PM, Lee Hsien Loong at odds. Li Shengwu is a 35-year-old assistant professor at Harvard University in the United States. Previously he had even opted out of participating in the proceedings of the court against him. He was unrepresented on July 29 for the judgement. According to an international media agency, Justice Kannan Ramesh had said while announcing the judgement that the allegation in Li’s Facebook post ‘is without any basis’ and ‘does not amount to fair criticism’.

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Li said govt ‘wasted three years’

If Li fails to pay the fine in the next two weeks, he will face at least one week in prison. After the judgement by Singapore high court, Li took on Facebook yet again and said he was fined for a comment that he made to friends on the social network and added that he ‘disagrees’ with the decision. Furthermore, the 35-year-old said that in response to a private post on the platform, the country’s government has ‘wasted three years’ of civil servants’ time. He even said in the Facebook post that his uncle “bullied his siblings and tore the family apart”. 

He wrote, “Apparently the court has rendered judgement on my case today, and fined me $15,000 for a comment made to my friends on Facebook.  I disagree with the judgement and worry that it will reinforce the PAP's tendency to suppress ordinary political speech.  In response to three words in a private Facebook post, the government has wasted three years of civil servants' time.”

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Image: Singapore Supreme Court/Twitter

(With inputs from agency)