Singapore lawyer Clarence Lun’s defamation suit against marathoner Soh Rui Yong concluded after five and a half days of hearings. District Judge Sia Aik Kor called for final written submissions by November 26, following contentious cross-examination over a Facebook post that sparked the legal battle.
The Facebook Post at the Center of the Defamation Suit
The legal confrontation centers on a Facebook post published in August 2024 on the fan page of two-time SEA Games marathon champion Soh Rui Yong. Soh, who is a lawyer by training, shared frustrations about his experiences dealing with various legal counsel over the years. In the post, the athlete claimed that Singapore has no shortage of dishonest, incompetent lawyers
and noted that he had dealt with three such professionals over the years.
Clarence Lun argued in court that he was clearly identifiable from those remarks. The lawyer pointed to references Soh made regarding one of the lawyers having faced a professional suspension. Lun received an 18-month suspension on October 10, 2022, after findings that he acted as a supervising solicitor of practice trainees without proper qualifications. During the final day of the hearing on August 27, Lun accused the marathoner of timing the social media post specifically to coincide with the lifting of his suspension to create “maximum impact” to threaten his livelihood. Lun also argued that Soh had made reckless, sweeping allegations against him, and did not provide reference to any specific case where the lawyer was dishonest or incompetent in his handling of cases.
Clash Over Legal Strategy and Competence in Past Cases
The courtroom proceedings featured some three hours of cross-examination, with the pair frequently accusing each other of interrupting. Lun previously represented Soh in two separate defamation disputes—one against fellow marathoner Ashley Liew and another against former Singapore Athletics executive director Malik Aljunied. Lun challenged Soh’s assertions of professional incompetence by pointing to court documentation from the Liew litigation, noting that the athlete had personally signed off on the disputed line of questioning.
It does not fall on you to then say your counsel was incompetent when your affidavit said you agreed with the line of questioning by your counsel, Lun said
Clarence Lun, Lawyer
Soh countered that he had only signed off on the affidavit as he trusted Lun, who was his legal counsel at the time. Another major point of contention involved the strategy Lun had employed for Soh in the defamation suit against Liew. Court documents show Lun had advised Soh to apply for the recusal of the district judge overseeing the case, and the application eventually failed. Soh contends that he had repeatedly asked Lun for examples of successful cases of judicial recusal in Singapore that they could rely on, but said the lawyer had not been truthful with him. The athlete eventually replaced Lun with Eugene Thuraisingam and Chooi Jing Yen of Eugene Thuraisingam LLP as his lead counsel.
Damages Sought and Next Steps in Court
Following the change in representation, Soh subsequently lost the case against his former teammate and was ordered to pay him $180,000 in damages. Soh also separately lost the case against Malik. In the current proceedings, Lun is seeking $180,000 in damages from the runner, alongside asking for a public apology and court injunction to prevent Soh from making similar future statements.
With the 5½ days of hearings concluded, District Judge Sia Aik Kor called for submissions by Nov 26. Speaking on August 27, the runner’s lawyer Akesh Abhilash of Silvester Legal told The Straits Times that he was satisfied with how Soh’s case has been fairly put before the court.
We will now turn to preparing our written submissions, and await the honourable court’s judgment. As the matter remains before the court, we do not intend to comment further at this stage, Akesh
Akesh Abhilash, Silvester Legal
