Re: TRE reader explains why PM Press Sec got it wrong
Roy Ngerng's application for a Queen's Counsel dismissed by High Court
PUBLISHED ON JUN 11, 2015 1:12 PM
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The High Court has dismissed blogger Roy Ngerng's application for a Queen's Counsel (QC) to represent him in a hearing on damages he must pay for defaming Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Roy Ngerng's application for a Queen's Counsel dismissed by High Court
By Rachel Chang
SINGAPORE - The High Court has dismissed blogger Roy Ngerng's application for a Queen's Counsel (QC) to represent him in a hearing on damages he must pay for defaming Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Mr Ngerng, who was found to have defamed PM Lee by suggesting in one of his blog posts that PM Lee had misappropriated Central Provident Fund savings, said that the Judge had dismissed the application on the grounds that the QC does not have relevant qualifications.
"I was intending to bring in a Queen's Counsel to help fight the defamation suit. It was difficult looking for a Senior Counsel in Singapore who would do so," he wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday.
Mr Ngerng added that the QC he wanted to represent him, Ms Heather Rogers, had helped draft the new defamation law in the United Kingdom. She has also been assisting on Mr Ngerng's case "for a few months now", he revealed in a blog post on Thursday.
High Court dismisses Ngerng’s bid to appoint Queen’s Counsel
SINGAPORE: The High Court has dismissed Roy Ngerng’s bid for a Queen’s Counsel (QC) to represent him in a hearing on damages he must pay for defaming Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
High Court judge
Steven Chong on Thursday (Jun 11) also ordered
Ngerng to pay S$6,000 in costs, inclusive of disbursements.
Under the Legal Profession Act, a QC can only be admitted to argue cases in the Singapore courts if they have special qualifications or experience for the purpose of the case. The courts will also look into factors such as whether local senior counsel are available for the case.
In dismissing the application which
Ngerng’s lawyer George Hwang filed on May 28, Justice Chong ruled that although
Ms Heather Rogers QC - whom Ngerng had applied to argue his case before the High Court in July to assess the amount of damages - is well-respected in the field of defamation in the United Kingdom, the subject matter of this case is “local-centric”.
Expertise in the issue of defamation of a local politician, and in local political and social conditions is required in Ngerng’s case, said the judge, and “no material in the application suggests that (Ms Rogers) is particularly conversant in (this regard)”.
He added that the local courts has long ceased to rely on precedents set by the English courts, and recent defamation law reforms in the United Kingdom have “taken (its) position even further (from Singapore)”.
Justice Chong also found that the issue at hand is “not particularly complex”. While Mr Hwang had argued in a hearing on Tuesday that this is the first time a blogger is being sued by the Prime Minister, Justice Chong stressed that “novelty is not to be confused with complexity”.
He added that Ngerng’s attempts to seek members of the local bar who are not senior counsels to argue his case has been “disappointing”.
“If Mr Ravi was suitable (to argue) at the more complex stage, I fail to see why local non-senior counsels would not be suitable at this less complex stage,” said Justice Chong, who was referring to lawyer M Ravi, who initially represented Ngerng but has been suspended from practising law following concerns about his mental health.
When asked if he would continue to represent Ngerng, Mr Hwang said: “I should think so, unless he doesn’t want me to. I will have to seek further instructions from my client.”
Read the original TODAY report here.
TODAY reports: Justice Chong ruled that although Ms Heather Rogers QC - whom Ngerng had applied to argue his case before the High Court in July to assess the amount of damages - is well-respected in the field of defamation in the UK, the subject matter of this case is “local-centric”.