Singabloodypore

SINGAPORE (AFP) — The Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) is to appeal against a Singapore court ruling that it defamed the country's leaders in an article published in 2006, the magazine's lawyer said Wednesday.

Peter Low, the lawyer representing FEER in the case, told AFP a "notice of appeal" against the Singapore court ruling had been filed.
A notice of appeal must be filed within one month of a judgement and formally begins the appeals procedure.

Singapore's High Court Justice Woo Bih Li ruled in a written judgement last month that FEER, which is banned in the city-state, had defamed the country's founding father Lee Kuan Yew and his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The court will assess the damages to be awarded at a later date.

The Lees sued the magazine's editor Hugo Restall and Hong Kong-based Review Publishing, its owners, alleging defamation in a 2006 article based on an interview with Chee Soon Juan, secretary-general of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).

The article entitled "Singapore's 'Martyr,' Chee Soon Juan," described the SDP secretary-general's battle against the ruling People's Action Party and its leaders.

In the article, Restall also touched on the success of Singapore officials in libel suits against critics.

Singaporean leaders have won hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages in defamation cases against critics and foreign publications. They say the cases are necessary to protect their reputations from unfounded attacks.