Court rejects claim in exile libel case

Court rejects claim in exile libel case

SINGAPORE (Reuters): The wife of a self-exiled Singapore opposition leader claiming compensation for having her assets frozen by government leaders had her case rejected by the High Court on Wednesday.

Lawyers for Teo Siew Har said the government leaders had been wrong to include her name on an injunction that froze the assets of her husband, Tang Liang Hong.

The assets included the couple's home, registered in Teo's name and worth some Singapore $4.5 million (US$2.7 million) when the injunction was granted in January last year.

The house is now worth less than a S$3.2 million mortgage on it, and the bank which lent the money wants to foreclose. The government leaders say the house is part-owned by Tang and could have been used to pay his damages bill.