SINGAPORE — Lawyer M Ravi is being investigated for criminal defamation in relation to a Facebook post alleging that lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam had told him that Law Minister K Shanmugam has said he “wields influence over the Chief Justice”, the police said on Saturday (Nov 7). 

“The public prosecutor has issued an order pursuant to Section 16(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code for the police to investigate into the offence,” they said in a news release.

Mr Ravi's Facebook post on Nov 6 alleged that Mr Thuraisingam had told him that Mr Shanmugam had said he “wields influence over the Chief Justice” and “calls the shot and controlls (sic) Sundaresh Menon”.

Mr Thuraisingam wrote a letter to Mr Shanmugam on the same day Mr Ravi's Facebook post was published, stating that "(t)here is absolutely no truth whatsoever" to the allegations, the police said.

Mr Thuraisingam also posted a copy of the letter on his Facebook page, referring to Mr Ravi's post as "false and completely untrue".

Mr Thuraisingam said that Mr Ravi had made similar allegations in a Facebook post published on June 12, 2017.

Mr Thuraisingam had then clarified with Mr Shanmugam on June 13, 2017 that Mr Ravi’s allegations were false. No police action was taken in that incident. CNA

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