Three criminal defamation actions filed by members of the Singapore Swimming Club against other club members have been thrown out by the Attorney-General because they were not serious enough to warrant prosecution.
“The Attorney-General is of the view that these are appropriate cases for him to intervene and discontinue the proceedings because the cases are not sufficiently serious to warrant prosecution for criminal defamation,” the Attorney-General’s Chambers said in a statement on October 16.
The cases had been fixed for mention in the Subordinate Courts that day.
In March and June, the complainants lodged Magistrate’s Complaints against the defendants asking for summonses to be issued against each of them, alleging that the defendants had criminally defamed them.
Good.
The overuse of defamation suits is a bad Singapore habit that should be stopped.