Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and other ministers on Tuesday dropped their defamation suits against Jeyaretnam after the bankrupt opposition leader read out an apology in court.

The apology, prepared by the lawyers for the plaintiffs, came with some amendments sought by the long-time foe of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP).

Ho, a member of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong and a practising solicitor, was speaking to reporters outside the High Court after Jeyaretnam read out the apology.

Lee and other ministers made the surprise offer to drop all charges on Monday provided Jeyaretnam agreed to apologise in court for alleged defamatory remarks made at an election rally at the 1997 polls.

Ho said the alleged remarks made by Jeyaretnam was not severe enough to warrant legal actions by the government ministers.

"The defamatory meaning...is too trivial to have attracted the attention of such political leaders like all the ministers in the cabinet," Ho said.

Singapore's reputation as one of the top Asian cities has been affected by the series of legal actions which the PAP has taken against its political opponents, Ho said.

"It has really spoiled the name of Singapore as one of the top cities in the world where the freedom of expression... are always vulnerable to attacks," Ho said.

"So I hope that the Singaporean leaders would really have a reflection of what they have done in the past...in the series of political actions against political dissidents in Singapore," he said.

Leaders of the ruling party have over the years won millions of dollars in damages as a result of lawsuits against opposition politicians who questioned their integrity.

Chee Soon Juan, another opposition leader from the Singapore Democratic Party, is also facing defamation charges from PAP leaders as a result of the November 2001 election campaign.