According to a court hearing, a widow sued her husband’s sister for defamation during awake and at a car dealership demanded SGD$4.1 million in compensation but she only receives SGD$40,000.
48-year-old Lim Siew Ling sued 57-year-old Neo Choon Sian after Neo called Lima “rotten woman” and said that Lim had misappropriated funds from the company. At a wake, Neo also described Lim as “was an immoral woman who has many sexual partners”.
Lim’s lawyer breakdown the SGD4.1 million by saying that SGD$100,000 for general damages, SGD$100,000 for aggravated damages and $3.9 million in punitive damages
Punitive damages are legal recompense that a defendant found guilty of committing an offence and is ordered to pay on top of compensatory damages.
The case was used to compare with the high profile defamation suit between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Leong Sze Hian which only accumulated a total of SGD$133,000 in damages. The judge said that the higher damages, in that case, was due to their high standing in Singapore and devotion to public service.
Therefore the $4.1m in damages does not quantify.