Today: The Online Citizen editor, article author go on trial for defaming Cabinet with corruption allegations

SINGAPORE — On the first day of a criminal defamation trial involving socio-political website The Online Citizen (TOC), the court heard testimony from Mr Sim Wee Lee, a man whose email and Facebook accounts were used by one of the accused persons.

When police officers eventually raided Mr Sim’s home, they stumbled upon drugs there. He was later sentenced to eight months’ jail for drug possession.Despite all this, Mr Sim said that he has chosen to forgive Daniel Augustin De Costa, who used his Yahoo email account to send an article to TOC that alleged corruption in the Cabinet.

De Costa, 37, is now contesting charges of criminal defamation along with TOC’s chief editor Terry Xu Yuanchen, 38.