Dissident Spotlight: Leong Sze Hian
Leong Sze Hian posted an unflattering story about Singapore's prime minister on Facebook. Hian was then fined almost $100,000.

One of the freedoms that democracies take for granted the most is the right to make mistakes in public. Even before Trump’s second term, social media companies allowed many errant opinions to be listed online. The American government doesn’t fine people just for posting uninformed opinions online.
Other governments are less generous.
On Nov. 7, 2018, a Malaysian news site called The Coverage published an article linking Singapore’s prime minister to an international corruption scandal. Leong Sze Hian, a political blogger in Singapore, reposted the article on his Facebook page. Hian was neither the original author nor an investigator into the corrupt activity the article alleged against Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
On Nov. 10, the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) sent Hian a warning to take the post down. He did the next day, but on Nov. 22, the prime minister still sued him for defamation. In March 2019, the courts decided Hian owed the prime minister S$133,000, about 98,000 USD.
Thankfully, he was able to crowdfund the money to pay the fines. In April 2021, he finally raised the money and paid the ransom — I mean fine. However, he also had to pay S$129,000 in legal fees.
Imagine the insanity of Singapore’s regime. A political blogger spent a year and a half raising money, because his country’s leader got angry at one of his Facebook posts.
The Freedom to Make Mistakes
For all the debate about misinformation, censorship, and free speech in the United States, no one has seriously considered having the president fine social media users for links he disapproves of. Americans are free to interact with reality however they want. Based on my X feed, my fellow Americans are thoroughly enjoying that right.
Singapore may be a wealthy country with a thriving economy, but it’s still an authoritarian country. Citizens of Singapore can enjoy the fruits of its founder’s vision as long as they watch what they say or write about their country’s leadership.
Hian’s tragedy and heroism isn’t just that he survived his country’s attempt to bankrupt and silence him. It’s that Hian wants so much better for his country, but its leaders have made clear that it’s the furthest thing from “his” country.